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Trump wants to use the 'God Squad' to increase logging, but it must follow strict rules
National

Trump wants to use the 'God Squad' to increase logging, but it must follow strict rules

  • By TAMMY WEBBER Associated Press

President Donald Trump wants to increase logging in national forests and on public lands, including by bypassing endangered species protections. To do that, the federal government would have to activate a seldom-used committee nicknamed the "God Squad." It's called that because it can approve federal projects even if it leads to extinction of a species otherwise protected by the Endangered Species Act. But experts say there are strict procedural requirements — and no provision under law to proactively use the committee to bypass protections.