In a win for the trees and our climate, President Biden announced on Earth Day that his administration is taking an important first step to safeguard mature and old-growth forests on federal lands. With help from advocates like you, he signed an executive order directing agencies to inventory mature and old-growth forests on federal lands nationwide and to develop policies to protect them.
Older trees accumulate and store enormous amounts of carbon over many centuries, providing vital wildlife habitat, clean water, clean air, and mitigation for floods and droughts. The executive order directs federal agencies to complete an inventory of all old-growth and mature forests and this information should quickly inform a rule-making process that will permanently protect these climate forests across all federal lands.
Photo Credits: The old-growth trees of the Tongass National Forest provide a major buffer against climate change. (John Hyde / Wild Things Photography)
