Friend,
The oldest living tree in the world is found in the White Mountains of California and has been alive for over 5,000 years. This Great Basin bristlecone pine is about as old as Stonehenge and has been putting down roots for all of our modern history.[1,2]
The last couple hundred years might be a blip in this tree's impressive lifespan, but the impact of human degradation has been felt deeply by thousands-year-old trees across the country. Few old-growth forests remain in America.[3]
Trees are facing threats from every direction, whether it's logging, drought or climate-fueled wildfires.
Tell the Biden administration: Protect our nation's oldest and most irreplaceable forests.
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In April, President Joe Biden signed an executive order pledging to restore and protect our nation's forests.[4] Now the administration is asking for public input on its plan to protect them.
The habitat provided by a 5,000-year-old tree is not easily replaced, nor are the places where trees have lived for hundreds and thousands of years. Our remaining mature and old-growth forests are the best habitat for many species of wildlife, including spotted owls, red-cockaded woodpeckers and pine martens.[5]
The oldest forests are also invaluable to our climate, acting as carbon sinks. Our country's forests absorb more than 10% of annual U.S. global warming pollution.[6] Losing these forests could jeopardize our ability to stop climate change.
Trees are the climate solution we don't have to build from scratch. If we let them, trees grow. Let's protect our forests and the wildlife that call them home.
Submit your public comment before the Aug. 30 deadline. Urge the Biden administration to protect old growth and mature forests for generations to come.
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We can and should be planting more saplings to seed the old-growth forests that our great-grandchildren will experience in their full-grown grandeur. But with forests disappearing and climate change accelerating, preserving existing trees is paramount.
Add your name to help save the oldest trees while we still can.
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Thank you,
Ellen Montgomery
1. "Top 5 oldest trees in the United States," CBS New York, June 29, 2016.
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2. "History of Stonehenge," English Heritage, last accessed July 29, 2022.
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3. "What makes older forests so special?," Environment America, February 15, 2022.
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4. "Executive order on strengthening the nation's forests, communities, and local economies," The White House, April 22, 2022.
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5. Ellen Montgomery and Taran Volckhausen, "Logging mature and old trees threatens U.S. climate goals," Environment America, June 23, 2022.
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6. "Executive order on strengthening the nation's forests, communities, and local economies," The White House, April 22, 2022.
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