Trevor Bexon / Getty ImagesReno police block road access while engulfed in wildfire smoke from the Pinehaven Fire on Nov. 17, 2020 in Reno, Nevada. (Trevor Bexon / Getty Images)
Environmentalists have filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S government to block plans to build up to 11,000 miles of fuel breaks they claim would violate the Endangered Species Act in an effort to slow the advance of wildfires in six Western states.
Leaders of four conservation groups say the Bureau of Land Management’s project would be shielded from legitimate environmental review under last-minute moves by the outgoing Trump administration.
They say the fuel breaks, in conjunction with proposed widespread clearcutting, herbicide spraying, grazing and prescribed fire, could threaten the survival of more than 100 rare species across potentially more than 340,000 square miles of federal land — an area twice as big as Pennsylvania, New
