The U.S. Forest Service is facing significant changes that could significantly alter how it manages millions of acres of forests across the country, according to High Country News , which highlights the agency's long-standing history of protecting public lands.

The Forest Service was established in 1905 to restore order to Western lands that had been damaged by uncontrolled cattle grazing and mining. Back then, overgrazing had destroyed grasslands and caused serious problems, including a typhoid outbreak in Utah that killed 11 people when sheep waste contaminated a town's water supply.

High Country News explains that President Theodore Roosevelt and local citizens collaborated to establish forest reserves in areas such as the La Sal and Abajo Mountains, aiming to halt this destruction.

See Full Page