Category: News

KIRO 7—Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will pause timber harvesting in some forests for six months. DNR said the pause was necessary to use advanced technology that would map and provide a better understanding of the forests they manage. The pause will ensure that the DNR follows its policy of conserving 10 to… Continue reading Washington DNR pauses timber harvesting in efforts to conserve older forests

Missoula Current—The U.S. Forest Service has pulled its intent to issue an official nationwide policy to preserve old-growth forests. After spending more than two years studying mature and old-growth forests and taking public comments on the threats they face, the Forest Service dropped the amendment after getting pushback from Republicans and the timber industry. Read… Continue reading Forest Service Punts on Old Growth Amendment

University of the Cumberlands and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources have entered into a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) agreement to provide public access for hunting, fishing, and related outdoor recreation on 10,273 acres of university-owned land in Whitley and McCreary counties. The new University of the Cumberlands WMA is comprised of three tracts of… Continue reading University of the Cumberlands WMA adds 10,000 acres of public access in southeastern Kentucky

News Journal—Trevor Sherman has been promoted to Publisher of the News Journal, the paper of record for Whitley County, Kentucky. Sherman is the third publisher in the News Journal’s 38-year history. Sherman first came to the News Journal in 2011 as an advertising sales representative and a delivery route driver. He began news and feature… Continue reading Trevor Sherman Promoted to Publisher of News Journal

Environment & Energy Leader—The U.S. Forest Service has announced a $16 million investment to combat the rising threat of invasive species across the United States. This initiative, which covers over 100 projects across 37 states and two territories, is part of the Forest Health provision in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The comprehensive plan tackles invasive… Continue reading Forest Service Invests $16 Million to Combat Invasive Species

Environmental Law & Policy Center—A lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) challenges the process of setting timber targets without conducting a proper environmental review. The U.S. Forest Service’s mandatory targets determine the amount of timber that must be logged from national forests every year. The lawsuit and revelatory internal Forest Service documents… Continue reading Timber Targets Have Environmental Consequences

This Saturday, December 14, 2024, Kentucky Heartwood will be leading a hike and field trip to see some outstanding forests in the Jellico Mountains threatened with logging under the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed Jellico Vegetation Management Project. On this hike we’ll see and discuss examples of mature and old-growth forests, different forest communities, and examples of… Continue reading Old-Growth Field Trip in the Jellico Mountains

Appalachian News-Express — Landslides are a deadly and costly natural disaster. In the U.S., 25 to 50 people on average are killed by landslides each year, according to the Department of Interior. In Whitley County, Kentucky, over 90% of the land is susceptible to landslides. In McCreary County, it’s over 97%. This is where the… Continue reading Landslides Pose Threat to Kentucky Counties

Following is one of the public comments submitted to the U.S. Forest Service regarding the Stearns Ruffed Grouse Habitat Management Project: This project places priority on a single species, the ruffed grouse. Multiple studies show that this game bird has declined largely due to West Nile virus, being over-hunted, and predation by prey species such… Continue reading Ruffed Grouse Project Comments

Scoping comments accepted now through Friday, October 18th, 2024 at 11:59pm Kentucky Heartwood—There is a new proposal for Grouse habitat management in the Stearns District of the Daniel Boone National Forest along the Big South Fork area of McCreary and Pulaski Counties. This has nothing to do with the Jellico Mountains logging project. Forest Service… Continue reading Comment on the Stearns Ruffed Grouse Habitat Management Project