LETTERS

NARROWING NEPA

ne result of the Trump administration’s insidious policy changes to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is the Bureau of Land Management’s use of so-called “vegetation treatment” programs (“Narrow NEPA,” September 2020). These environmentally destructive efforts involve stripping natural lowland forests, shrublands and grasslands using chaining, mowing, masticating, herbiciding and burning. The areas are then seeded with non-native forage grasses, which are favored by cattle and big game. These programs are supported by many ranchers and hunters, because they open up new land for grazing and hunting