- New USDA draft environmental assessment does little to change the scope of Jellico Mtn. logging projectThe News Journal — Community members are concerned about the lack of changes to the proposed Jellico Mountain logging project outlined in a new draft environmental assessment that was released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Forest Service last week, which still calls for the clearcutting of nearly 1,000 acres… Continue reading New USDA draft environmental assessment does little to change the scope of Jellico Mtn. logging project
- Groundbreaking lawsuit takes aim at U.S. Forest Service’s ‘timber targets’Southern Environmental Law Center — This week, SELC filed a new, first-of-its-kind lawsuit that alleges the Forest Service’s ‘timber target’ decisions put the climate at risk, undermine the Biden administration’s important climate goals, and violate federal law. The case, which was filed on behalf of the Chattooga Conservancy, MountainTrue, and an individual in Missouri, centers… Continue reading Groundbreaking lawsuit takes aim at U.S. Forest Service’s ‘timber targets’
- Draft environmental assessment for proposed Jellico Mtn. logging job releasedThe News Journal — The Stearns Ranger District of the Daniel Boone National Forest has announced that they released a draft environmental assessment for the Jellico Vegetation Management Project on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The project, now open for public comment, proposes to conduct silvicultural treatments, including timber harvest, intermediate treatments and associated road work,… Continue reading Draft environmental assessment for proposed Jellico Mtn. logging job released
- Daniel Boone National Forest announces prescribed burns, fire season remindersU.S. Forest Service — With the start of Kentucky’s spring wildfire hazard season, wildland fire crews are setting up shop across the Daniel Boone National Forest. These crews will be on call to respond to wildfires throughout the spring fire season, which lasts from February 15 to April 30. They will also carry out a… Continue reading Daniel Boone National Forest announces prescribed burns, fire season reminders
- Forest Service announces plan to amend all forest land management plans to protect old growth treesWXPR – Last week, the USDA Forest Service announced a proposal to amend all 128 forest land management plans across the country. In keeping with the Biden administration’s April 2022 executive order, each forest plan is going to be amended to conserve and steward old and mature growth national forests and grasslands. WXPR spoke with… Continue reading Forest Service announces plan to amend all forest land management plans to protect old growth trees
- US moves to protect old growth forests as climate change threatens their survivalABC News – The Biden administration moved on Tuesday to conserve groves of old-growth trees on national forests across the U.S. and limit logging as climate change amplifies the threats they face from wildfires, insects and disease. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the agency was adopting an “ecologically-driven” approach to older forests — an arena… Continue reading US moves to protect old growth forests as climate change threatens their survival
- Timber harvests climb in national forestsPolitico Pro – The Forest Service harvested more timber in fiscal 2023 than it has for years, but still fell short of the agency’s annual target. National forests yielded 2.9 billion board feet of cut timber, and 3.1 billion board feet in sales, the Forest Service said. Timber industry groups said the numbers reflect progress… Continue reading Timber harvests climb in national forests
- We save Arizona’s forests by keeping their largest treesAZ Central – Decades ago, the logging industry had it backward, removing old-growth trees while leaving the small ones. That’s no longer the case. A coalition of stakeholders, including some former adversaries, came together to fundamentally rethink how we manage ponderosa pine forests in Arizona. Recognizing the need to correct course and safely restore natural… Continue reading We save Arizona’s forests by keeping their largest trees
- DNA mapping begins a long road to recovery for endangered Tennessee fishNews Channel 9 – In 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a draft recovery plan for the Cumberland Darter, a pencil-shaped, three-inch fish whose range has been reduced to just a handful of streams in Southeast Kentucky and Northeast Tennessee, including in the Jellico Mountains. The Cumberland Darter’s precipitous decline was caused by… Continue reading DNA mapping begins a long road to recovery for endangered Tennessee fish
- Forest ‘thinning,’ aka logging, is not going to save us from wildfiresSeattle Times – Thirty years ago, fuels-reduction work in the national forests to prevent mega-fires was promoted like a religious revival. It involved logging projects focusing on thinning forests to mitigate the damage caused by past timber cutting and fire suppression. But after years of analysis of “fuels-reduction” projects, the painful facts have arrived. Let’s… Continue reading Forest ‘thinning,’ aka logging, is not going to save us from wildfires
- Conservation groups sue Forest Service for logging proposal near Yellowstone National ParkDaily Montanan – Three conservation groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop a United States Forest Service plan for a large logging project near Yellowstone National Park that they say puts several threatened or endangered species in even more danger. The groups said that the Forest Service is refusing to identify the locations, timing… Continue reading Conservation groups sue Forest Service for logging proposal near Yellowstone National Park
- Forest Service plans to clear-cut in the Monongahela National ForestWest Virginians worry it’s a return to the state’s destructive logging past. Fayette Tribune – The U.S. Forest Service has proposed to clear-cut and burn a number of areas of the Monongahela National Forest near the Upper Cheat River — 3,463 acres of trees in all. The Forest Service says that it seeks to make the forest more resilient… Continue reading Forest Service plans to clear-cut in the Monongahela National Forest
- Environmental Assessment Due in SeptemberWe spoke with Tim Reed, U.S. Forest Service Stearns District Ranger and decision-maker on the Jellico Mountains Vegetative Management Project. He said we should expect the Environmental Assessment in September. They are following the NEPA Process and will provide a 30-day official comment period. Watch this space.
- Reversing the worst impacts of the NEPA rollbacksEarthJustice.org – The Council on Environmental Quality released its phase II proposed rule for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This is the final proposed rule in a multi-phase process to remedy harmful changes made under the Trump administration. NEPA is our bedrock environmental law requiring the federal government to engage with communities and take… Continue reading Reversing the worst impacts of the NEPA rollbacks
- More than Half a Million People Call on Forest Service to Protect Mature, Old-Growth Forests and TreesEarthJustice.org – More than 528,000 submitted comments to the U.S. Forest Service about protecting mature and old-growth trees and forests from logging on federal land as a cornerstone of U.S. climate policy. “The public wants the nation’s mature forests and trees to be protected from the chainsaw, and with good reason,” said Garett Rose, senior attorney… Continue reading More than Half a Million People Call on Forest Service to Protect Mature, Old-Growth Forests and Trees
- U.S. has inventoried old-growth forests. Will protection be next?Washington Post – The federal government estimated that more than 100 million acres of old-growth and mature timberlands are still standing on public lands. The findings are the result of a year-long review ordered last year by President Biden and are likely to inflame tensions with the timber industry over which forests should remain unlogged. But they… Continue reading U.S. has inventoried old-growth forests. Will protection be next?
- Forest Service Is Dragging Its Feet On Protecting Ancient Trees From LoggingHuffPost — Critics say it is time for the White House to make demands of the Forest Service instead of letting the agency advance pro-logging policies. On Earth Day last year, President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at protecting and restoring mature and old-growth forests on federal lands across the country. The order… Continue reading Forest Service Is Dragging Its Feet On Protecting Ancient Trees From Logging
- Forest Service Fiscal 2024 Budget JustificationThis publication summarizes the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The 2024 Forest Service Budget request for discretionary appropriations is $9.7… Continue reading Forest Service Fiscal 2024 Budget Justification
- Plans for Jellico Mtn. logging project remain unchanged, but maybe not for longThe News Journal – Basically, it’s not the fact that the logging job is being proposed that has people so upset. It’s more about the overall scope of the job, which will span about four decades and include a considerable amount of clearcutting. I am concerned about the long-term negative effects that could result from… Continue reading Plans for Jellico Mtn. logging project remain unchanged, but maybe not for long
- New Report: Taxpayers Lost $1.7 Billion from Money-Losing Timber Sales in the TongassSince 1980, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has lost more than $1.7 billion on timber sales in the Tongass National Forest, according to a new report by Taxpayers for Common Sense. “It actually costs taxpayers millions to ‘sell’ timber that we collectively own, which makes no sense,” said Autumn Hanna, vice president of Taxpayers for… Continue reading New Report: Taxpayers Lost $1.7 Billion from Money-Losing Timber Sales in the Tongass
- Valuing the forest can’t be left to the marketSumauma.com – Under what insane set of values are lifeless, horizontal logs priced higher than living, vertical trees? How can it make economic sense to run down one of the world’s most important climate stabilisers, water pumps and cooling systems for the sake of a quick buck, burgers and gold trinkets? The answers to these three… Continue reading Valuing the forest can’t be left to the market
- Damaging logging operations on federal public lands costs U.S. taxpayers nearly $2 billion each yearA May 2019 report by the Center for Sustainable Economy says thelogging program on federal forests continues to lose money for U.S. taxpayers in the range of $1.5 to $2.0 billion per year. Each year, the U.S. Forest Service authorizes logging of roughly 3 billion board feet of timber – equivalent to 650,000 full log… Continue reading Damaging logging operations on federal public lands costs U.S. taxpayers nearly $2 billion each year
- Conservation groups sue Forest Service for evading analysis and disclosure of commercial thinning projects’ environmental impactsWildEarth Guardians – Conservation organizations WildEarth Guardians and Oregon Wild filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Forest Service’s misuse of an agency regulation to evade its obligation to analyze and disclose the environmental impacts of three projects on the Fremont-Winema National Forest in Oregon. The organizations allege the Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)… Continue reading Conservation groups sue Forest Service for evading analysis and disclosure of commercial thinning projects’ environmental impacts
- The Forest Service Not Only Loses Money Logging, It Makes Fires WorseCounterPunch.org – Some reporters still mistakenly write that commercial logging makes money for the Forest Service. It doesn’t — and this is an important issue because citizens need to know that politicians are actually sacrificing the public’s national forest resources and billions of federal tax dollars to enable the private profit of the timber industry. Adding to… Continue reading The Forest Service Not Only Loses Money Logging, It Makes Fires Worse
- Log and burn? Or let it be? The fight over the future of Hoosier National ForestKentucky Lantern – Last month, the Biden administration announced a plan for new regulations to enhance “climate resilience” in those forests. It was a follow-up to a first-of-its-kind inventory ordered by Biden that showed mature and old-growth forests make up 60 percent, or 112 million acres, of the forests managed by the Forest Service and… Continue reading Log and burn? Or let it be? The fight over the future of Hoosier National Forest
- Protect Our Climate ForestsAmerica’s mature and old-growth forests — natural climate solutions that remove and absorb large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere — could win stronger protections if enough people weigh in to urge federal agencies to act. Please urge the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to issue a rule protecting climate forests. The agencies are focused on… Continue reading Protect Our Climate Forests
- Mills cutting pulpwood orders cause ‘world of hurt’ for loggersBangor Daily News – Mills cut back pulpwood orders within the past couple months, citing global market conditions, soft demand for certain papers and high inventories. It is a reversal of the booming business last summer. Leslie Pepper, a logger in Maine for 36 years, has to call each Monday morning to see if the… Continue reading Mills cutting pulpwood orders cause ‘world of hurt’ for loggers
- RISE Eastern Standard Documentary on NPRThe 8th episode of RISE, the Eastern Standard documentary series, focuses on a proposed US Forest Service logging project in the Jellicos, part of the Cumberland Mountains in the Daniel Boone National Forest on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. As proposed, the project would clear cut stands of old-growth trees on 10,000 acres over 40 years. Presenting… Continue reading RISE Eastern Standard Documentary on NPR
- Protecting old-growth forests best way to fight climate changeAlbuquerque Journal – During my 35 years working for the U.S. Forest Service, I learned about the “law of holes” the hard way. The first law: if you’re in a hole, stop digging. The second: when you stop digging, you’re still in a hole. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management stopped digging… Continue reading Protecting old-growth forests best way to fight climate change
- Log and Burn, or Leave Alone?Indiana Residents fight the U.S. Forest Service over the future of Hoosier National Forest. The mighty, valuable oak is at the center of a conflict between federal officials and logging opponents over how to manage mature forests in an era of climate change. The Forest Service has more than 20 projects underway like the Hoosier… Continue reading Log and Burn, or Leave Alone?
- Mature and Old-Growth Forest InventoryThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of the Interior (DOI) announced actions to foster forest conservation, enhance forest resilience to climate change, and inform policymaking on ensuring healthy forests on federally managed lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). USDA and DOI worked together to develop several… Continue reading Mature and Old-Growth Forest Inventory
- Stop Me If You’ve Heard This BeforeWildEarth Guardians – Conservation groups late Monday challenged a U.S. Forest Service plan to clearcut more than 5,500 acres of pine forests just outside Yellowstone National Park, in the Custer Gallatin National Forest. The plan also calls for logging across an additional 9,000 acres and bulldozing up to 56 miles of roads in the area,… Continue reading Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before
- Proposed clearcutting in Jellico Mountains could have serious negative consequencesBy: Trevor Sherman, The News Journal I have found myself doing a fair amount of research in recent days after attending last week’s Corbin Rotary Club meeting at David’s Steakhouse. The special guest speakers were Debbie Moses, and Timm and Theresa Martin, who were there to speak about the ongoing efforts to convince the U.S.… Continue reading Proposed clearcutting in Jellico Mountains could have serious negative consequences
- Thanks to Whitney Hamblin for her ArtworkThe Jellico Mountains Logging Task Force would like to officially thank and recognize Whitney Hamblin of Kentucky Heartwood for all the amazing artwork and documents she made for our cause. Thank you, Whitney and Kentucky Heartwood! The task force, citizens of Whitley and McCreary counties, and the wildlife and trees in the Jellico Mountains really… Continue reading Thanks to Whitney Hamblin for her Artwork
- Citizens are eager to “stop the chop”McCreary Voice – With the rugged beauty and history of the area, perhaps it is no real surprise that a local citizens’ group is opposed to the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed Jellico (& Little Rock Creek) Vegetation Management Project, which incorporates the use of clearcutting and variations of clearcutting to harvest approximately 5,000 acres of… Continue reading Citizens are eager to “stop the chop”
- Jellico Mountain task force formed to oppose Daniel Boone National Forest loggingWTVQ — A group of Whitley and McCreary County citizens have banded together to protect thousands of acres of the Daniel Boone National Forest. This is in response to the U.S. Forest Services’ plans to clear-cut approximately 5,000 acres of the forest and log a total of 10,000 acres over the next 40 years, the… Continue reading Jellico Mountain task force formed to oppose Daniel Boone National Forest logging
- Citizens Alternative to the Jellico Vegetative Management ProjectMarch 15, 2023 Tim Reed, District ManagerDaniel Boone National ForestStearns Ranger District3320 Highway 27 NWhitley City, KY 42653 Subject: Citizens Alternative to the Jellico Vegetative Management Project #63037 Dear Mr. Reed, This letter is in response to U.S. Forest Service plans to log the Jellico Mountains of the Daniel Boone National Forest over the next… Continue reading Citizens Alternative to the Jellico Vegetative Management Project
- Sign Our PetitionPlease sign and share our petition: No Clearcutting the Jellico Mountains in our Daniel Boone National Forest https://www.change.org/JellicoMountains
- Kentucky Residents Angered by U.S. Forest Service Logging Plan That Targets Mature TreesWILLIAMSBURG, Kentucky—Brandon Bowlin learned of the U.S. government’s plan for clear-cutting in the southernmost mountains of Daniel Boone National Forest only a few weeks after the hard summer rains of 2022, when the earth slid off a mountain beneath a slope he had once logged. Since age 14—when Bowlin first held a chainsaw—he has harvested… Continue reading Kentucky Residents Angered by U.S. Forest Service Logging Plan That Targets Mature Trees
- Letter to the EditorThe following letter was sent to the editor of The McCreary Voice and is shared below with the express permission of the author. Dear Editor, I am writing to you and the community in reference to two articles: Locals Express Views During Town Hall Meeting and Vigorous Response to Jellico Vegetation Management Proposal. The U.S.… Continue reading Letter to the Editor
- Protect This Place: Jellico Mountains, Home of Magical Waterways and Unique SpeciesThe Revelator – The community at the base of the Jellico Mountains initiated an incredible public campaign to “stop the chop” in response to the Forest Service’s scoping analysis. Every decision we make today will leave generations of people growing into adulthood with questions about why we chose profit and extraction over protection. While we… Continue reading Protect This Place: Jellico Mountains, Home of Magical Waterways and Unique Species
- Our Story is #6 for 2022These are the top stories of 2022 as voted upon by the news staff of the News Journal. 6) Daniel Boone National Forest proposal Nearly 100 people turned out on Nov. 17 for a town hall style meeting over the U.S. Forest Service’s proposal to clear cut logging of about 1,000 acres in the Daniel… Continue reading Our Story is #6 for 2022
- Proposed AlternativeProposed alternative to clearcutting the Jellico Mountains:JELLICO MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA JMNRA
- Southern Environmental Law Center’s CommentsCheck out the excellent feedback that Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) provided to the U.S. Forest Service regarding the Jellico Logging Project. View SELC Comments The mission of the Southern Environmental Law Center is to protect the basic right to clean air, clean water, and a livable climate; to preserve our region’s natural treasures and… Continue reading Southern Environmental Law Center’s Comments
- Glad to see open dialogue at town hall meeting on proposed loggingThe News Journal – Our founding fathers were some pretty smart folks. When they created this country, they did so with the idea of giving the people a way to peacefully address their grievances with the government. On Nov. 17, we got to see this in action locally as about 100 people gathered at the… Continue reading Glad to see open dialogue at town hall meeting on proposed logging
- 293 Public Comments!Thank you to everyone who submitted public comments to the U.S. Forest Service… for a total of 293 comments on the Jellico Project! The USFS values public participation and encourages comments on all forest projects to “help us make the right decisions for the good of the land and the public we serve.” We hope… Continue reading 293 Public Comments!
- Locals express views during town hall meetingREAD THE ARTICLE AT THE VOICE
- Public meeting shows several not in support of proposed forest management projectWILLIAMSBURG — More than 100 concerned residents attended a meeting Thursday to discuss a proposed project that would affect nearly 10,000 acres of the Daniel Boone National Forest over the next 40 years. READ MORE AT THE TIMES TRIBUNE
- This will destroy this whole region for years,’ resident tells U.S. Forest ServiceNews Journal – With the exception of forest service officials, there was a clear consensus from pretty much everyone else who spoke out at the meeting that clear cutting is a terrible idea. “I find it disgusting. Clear cutting on steep slopes should be outlawed,” said one person, who identified himself as a former logger.… Continue reading This will destroy this whole region for years,’ resident tells U.S. Forest Service
- Photos from the Town MeetingThanks to the U.S. Forest Service, Kentucky Heartwood, and the hundred members of our community who turned out on November 17 for our town meeting on the Jellico Logging Project. And special thanks to the Whitley County Extension Office for allowing the community to use its space. Here are some photos from the event:
- Video of the Town MeetingKentucky Heartwood made a Facebook Live broadcast of the Jellico Project Town Meeting on November 17 at the Whitley County Extension Office. Turnout was excellent, with about 100 members of the community in attendance and many sharing their views. Special thanks to the U.S. Forest Service, Tim Reed, John Hull, and the others for their… Continue reading Video of the Town Meeting
- People who live near Daniel Boone National Forest are concerned about losing 10,000 acres of treesWBIR 10 News NBC – “We are concerned about the amount of logging and the number of years the proposal is going to take. Forty years, that’s a long time,” said Lauren Kallmeyer, the executive director of Kentucky Heartwood. “We’re hoping for a lot less trees to be cut overall. Then, the amount of trees… Continue reading People who live near Daniel Boone National Forest are concerned about losing 10,000 acres of trees
- Daniel Boone Forest deserves better treatment than proposed logging project“Our shared public lands provide the best, and perhaps only opportunity for the restoration and recovery of the great forests that once dominated eastern Kentucky. These lands need stewardship and care. But the agricultural underpinnings of traditional forestry too easily sideline other values and risk degrading and diminishing our public forests.” READ THE ARTICLE AT… Continue reading Daniel Boone Forest deserves better treatment than proposed logging project
- Deschutes National Forest to log old-growth trees in popular trail areaDon’t cut down the last old-growth we have left. It’s as simple as that and has been for Oregon Wild’s mission for nearly 50 years. We just learned that the U.S. Forest Service plans to log old-growth trees along the Pine Drops trail, one of the most popular mountain biking trail networks in Oregon. Trees over 100… Continue reading Deschutes National Forest to log old-growth trees in popular trail area
- Kentucky Heartwood files lawsuit challenging nearly 3,800 acres of logging in Daniel Boone National ForestKentucky Heartwood has filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Forest Service’s South Red Bird Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Project on the Daniel Boone National Forest in Leslie and Clay counties. The largest timber project on the Daniel Boone in nearly 20 years would allow commercial logging on over 3,800 acres of public lands, along with the construction of… Continue reading Kentucky Heartwood files lawsuit challenging nearly 3,800 acres of logging in Daniel Boone National Forest
- Proposal calls for cutting trees in Whitley and McCreary countiesThe Kentucky Daily – Several have shared their concerns on Facebook regarding a United States Forest Service proposal that could potentially clear out wooded areas in their backyards. “No deforestation or conversion of land use is proposed,” confirmed Timothy Eling, Public Affairs of the Daniel Boone National Forest. READ THE STORY ON THE KENTUCKY DAILY