Category: News

EarthJustice.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

EarthJustice.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

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?

HuffPost — 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

This 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

The 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

Since 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

Sumauma.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

A 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

WildEarth 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