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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 20 december 2023

Biden administration moves to protect old-growth forests as

climate change brings fires, pests

By MATTHEW BROWN Old-growth forests, such as such as the 2001 “roadless
Associated Press the storied giant sequoia rule” adopted under former
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — stands of northern Califor- President Bill Clinton that ef-
The Biden administration nia, have layer upon layer fectively blocked logging
moved on Tuesday to con- of undisturbed trees and on about one quarter of all
serve groves of old-growth vegetation. There’s wide federal forests.
trees on national forests consensus on the impor- Chris Wood, president of
across the U.S. and limit tance of preserving them Trout Unlimited and a for-
logging as climate change — both symbolically as mer Forest Service policy
amplifies the threats they marvels of nature, and chief who worked on the
face from wildfires, insects more practically because roadless rule, said the Biden
and disease. their trunks and branches administration proposal
Agriculture Secretary Tom store large amounts of car- was a “step in the right di-
Vilsack said the agency bon that can be released rection” to protect the re-
was adopting an “ecolog- when forests burn, adding maining old growth. Old-growth Douglas fir trees stand along the Salmon River Trail,
ically-driven” approach to to climate change. “This is the first time the For- June 25, 2004, in Mt. Hood National Forest outside Zigzag, Ore.
older forests — an arena Underlining the urgency of est Service has said its na- Associated Press
where timber industry in- the issue are wildfires that tional policy will be to pro- protect older forests, which by thinning stands of trees
terests have historically killed thousands of giant tect old growth,” he said. the Democrat launched in where decades of wildfire
predominated. That will in- sequoias in recent years. Timber companies and 2021 on Earth Day. They’ve suppression allowed under-
clude the first nationwide The towering giants are some members of Con- urged the administration growth to flourish, which
amendment to U.S. For- concentrated in about 70 gress have been skeptical to instead concentrate on can be a recipe for disaster
est Service management groves scattered along the about Biden’s ambitions to lessening wildfire dangers when fires ignite.q
plans in the agency’s 118- western side of the Sierra
year history, he said. Nevada range.
The proposal follows long- Many old-growth forests
standing calls from environ- fell during the second half
mentalists to preserve older of the 20th century during
forests that offer crucial aggressive logging on na-
wildlife habitat and other tional forests. Others were
environmental benefits. cut earlier as the U.S. de-
Timber companies have veloped.
fought against logging re- Logging volumes dropped
strictions on government- sharply over the past sev-
owned lands. eral decades, but the de-
President Joseph Biden’s mise of older trees due to
administration appears fire, insects and disease ac-
to be aiming for a middle celerated. More than 5,100
ground: It would sharply square miles (13,300 square
limit commercial timber kilometers) of old-growth
harvests in old-growth for- and mature forests burned
ests while allowing logging since 2000.
to continue in “mature About 350 square miles
forests” that have not yet (900 square kilometers) of
reached old-growth stage. older forests were logged
“This creates a commit- on federal lands during
ment to resiliency, a com- that time, according to a
mitment to restore and recent government analy-
protect the existing old sis.
growth that we have from There’s no simple formula
the threats that we see,” to determine what’s old.
Vilsack said in an interview. Growth rates among differ-
Timber industry representa- ent tree types vary greatly
tives said Tuesday’s propos- — and even within species,
al would give its opponents depending on their access
new leverage to file legal to water and sunlight, and
challenges against logging soil conditions. Groves of
projects that are intended aspen can mature within
to reduce wildfire risks for a half-century. Douglas fir
communities near forests. stands can take 100 years.
But environmental groups Wildfire frequency also
called for logging restric- factors in: Ponderosa pine
tions to be extended even forests are adapted to
further and include mature withstand blazes as often
forests, which cover more as once a decade, com-
than 100,000 square miles pared to lodgepole pine
(275,000 square miles) of stands that might burn ev-
forest service land, about ery few hundred years.
three times the area of old Past protections for older
growth. trees have come indirectly,