The government will protect millions of acres of old-growth forest on public lands from threats that include wildfire, insects, disease, and climate change with an updated management plan, said Biden administration officials on Thursday. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the U.S. Forest Service would employ “science-based management and conservation strategies that can be adapted to unique local circumstances on national forests.”
On Friday, the administration is expected to release a draft environmental impact statement on its proposed nationwide amendment to Forest Service management plans. The White House unveiled the first-of-its-kind nationwide amendment last December. Forests absorb 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and the administration says they will play an important role in mitigating global warming.
Chief Randy Moore of the Forest Service said that the old-growth amendment “will provide guidance that can be adapted locally to support multiple uses, including proactive stewardship of old forests to reduce wildfire risks and create long-term resilience in a changing climate.” In the past, “multiple use” in national forests has meant logging as well as recreation and conservation.
The plan would allow logging to reduce wildfire risks, according to an Associated Press review of the document, obtained in advance. Forest Service deputy chief Chris French told the news agency that to preserve old-growth forest, “we’re going to have to take proactive management against wildfire and insects and disease.”
Some environmentalists advocate a complete ban on old-growth logging.
The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, an Interior Department agency, oversee a combined 32 million acres of old-growth forest and 80 million acres of mature forest. The national forest system, managed by the Forest Service, covers 193 million acres of forest and grassland.
Wildfire, “exacerbated by climate change,” and insects and disease are the leading threats to old-growth and mature forests, according to an analysis released earlier this month by the Agriculture and Interior departments. The analysis indicated that current policies were not sufficient to protect old-growth forests. “Just over half of old-growth forests are vulnerable to these threats. Tree cutting (any removal of trees) is currently a relatively minor threat despite having been a major disturbance historically.”
Since 2000, wildfires have burned 700,000 acres of old-growth forest, and 182,000 acres have been lost to insects and disease. About 9,000 acres of old-growth forest were logged during the same period.
“That’s 98 times more acres than was affected by timber harvest,” said the Federal Forest Resource Coalition, speaking for the timber and wood-processing sector. “FFRC is disappointed that the administration continues to pursue further restrictions on management of the national forests in the face of unprecedented forest health and wildfire challenges.”
A White House fact sheet on the protection of old-growth forests is available here.