Utah to Gain More Control Over National Forests Under Agreement

Utah will play a greater role in managing federal forests to increase logging under an agreement struck Thursday between Gov. Spencer Cox (R) and the US Forest Service.

Conservation groups criticized the deal, saying it will increase state control over national forests. The Forest Service struck similar agreements with Idaho in December and Montana in October.

The 20-year agreement with Utah calls on state and federal officials to jointly decide how nearly 8.2 million acres of national forests will be managed in order to increase timber harvesting, “landscape-scale restoration,” and cutting trees to reduce wildfire threats.

The agreement says it’s ...