The Department of Interior approved a $275 million Bureau of Land Management plan to construct and maintain a system of up to 11,000 miles of strategically placed firebreaks — strips of land with trees, deadwood, and undergrowth removed — across 223 million acres of federal public lands in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Advocates say the firebreaks will slow or stop spreading wildfires. Critics say it’s an expensive end-run around environmental regulations that protect native vegetation, as well as vulnerable species such as the greater sage-grouse. Status: Finalized April 1, 2020.
