FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service has put the brakes on a effort to thin hundreds of square miles of land in Arizona to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, drawing sharp rebukes from elected officials.
The Four Forest Restoration Initiative is the largest of its kind within the agency that oversees more than 300,000 square miles (780,000 square kilometers) of forests and grasslands in the U.S. The venture launched more than a decade ago was a rare showing of consensus among longtime adversaries like loggers and environmentalists to reshape forests on a large scale...