Rep Hageman: USDA's "Roadless Rule" is the real cause of the West's wildfire epidemic

While Democrats cry out that climate change is destroying our forests through devastating wildfires, the reality is much simpler. USDA policies such as the Roadless Rule claim to preserve our wilderness, but instead hamper our ability to thin forests, treat invasive and destructive species like the Rocky Mountain Region Bark Beetle, and rapidly respond to wildfires when they first begin.

As if these counterintuitive regulations weren't enough, the US Forest Service excluded Wyoming from their wildfire mitigation plans. This is the end state of government overregulation: costing taxpayers money, creating illogical policies, and putting lives and property at risk.