Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** U.S. Forest Service enacts old-growth logging ban
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Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Two species of trees in an old growth forest are leaning on one another, seemingly hugging for extra strength. Source: USDA Forest Service Photo by Karen L. Dillman, Flickr ([link removed])
The U.S. Forest Service announced protections for nearly 25 million acres ([link removed]) it oversees with the first national plan to protect old-growth forests from commercial logging. The plan would prohibit cutting down old-growth trees ([link removed]) , most of which are well over 100 years old and store vast amounts of carbon ([link removed]) as well as provide essential habitat for hundreds of wildlife species.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said it is the first time the Forest Service has proposed simultaneously revising all 128 of its forest management plans, which dictate how all 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands are managed. “We think this will allow us to respond effectively and strategically to the biggest threats that face old growth,” Vilsack said ([link removed]) , adding, “At the end of the day it will protect not just the forests, but also the culture and heritage connected to the forests.”
The announcement stems from an executive order President Joe Biden signed ([link removed]) directing the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to inventory mature and old-growth forests across the nation and craft policies that protect them. The agencies found that more than 32 million acres of old-growth forests remain ([link removed]) on public lands in the United States.
The Forest Service's announcement drew praise from many conservation organizations. “Loggers, conservationists, and the federal agencies have fought over old forests for nearly forty years. There’s a long, tumultuous history of lawsuits, log-truck rallies, and tree-sitters. A national plan amendment on old forest policy could finally set aside the acrimony of the past and allow us all to get to work on the critical task of managing forests for the future,” said David Dreher, senior manager for public lands at the National Wildlife Federation ([link removed]) .
Bring me my fainting couch: Hardrock mining edition
For more than 150 years, hardrock mining in the U.S. has been governed by the General Mining Law of 1872 ([link removed]) , a law that has remained largely unchanged since its passage. The mining industry benefits greatly from this outdated law, and continues to fight efforts to update the law despite extraordinary increases in the scope and scale of modern mining. Various legislative attempts to update the General Mining Law of 1872 have been introduced over the past 30 years, but have failed to pass Congress thanks in part to aggressive opposition campaigns by the mining industry. Read the latest blog post from Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby ([link removed]) about the mining industry's outrageous legislative push to expand rights associated with mining through legislation that would pose a very real threat to any future conservation
efforts on lands that currently are not protected but could be, including as new national parks or national monuments.
** Quick hits
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U.S. Forest Service enacts old-growth logging ban
Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | White House Fact Sheet ([link removed]) | USDA Press Release ([link removed].)
Paws on the ground: How Colorado got its wolves back
High Country News ([link removed])
Agreement between Ohkay Owingeh, Forest Service, and BLM gives Tribe more say over ancestral sites
KUNM ([link removed])
Is the new drought playbook bold enough for a hotter, drier future for the Colorado River?
Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])
Pacific Northwest gas pipeline expansion could fuel climate emergencies
The Guardian ([link removed])
White House announces next steps on American Climate Corps
E&E News ([link removed]) | White House Fact Sheet ([link removed])
Colorado's reductions to ozone pollution from oil and gas not enough
Denver Post ([link removed])
National Park Service works to end cattle trespass at Valles Caldera National Preserve
National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” If this bill were to pass, not only could companies obtain an overarching statutory right to dump mine waste on public lands, they could also build and maintain roads and other infrastructure on any public land while preventing any other land use, like conservation, recreation, or renewable energy development.”
—Policy Director Rachael Hamby, Center for Western Priorities ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@Interior ([link removed])
As wildfire seasons grow in length and intensity due to the climate crisis, investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are helping Interior build resilient landscapes and protect communities.
Photo by Sarah McNeil, @BLMFire ([link removed])
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