The Forest Service's Proposed Rulemaking for mature and old-growth forests: Give Your Voice on the Fate of Our National Forests
Speaking Up for Our National Forests
The Forest Service has announced its Proposed Rulemaking for mature and old-growth forests. The public has through July 20 to comment. This will help direct the overall management of the 188 million acre National Forest system. This analysis and request for comment covers broad-based questions that get at the heart of the overall direction of the agency. Your voice is needed to help encourage the Forest Service to focus on a land ethic that promotes preservation of our public lands heritage.
The announcement (linked above) requests comments on a battery of questions, with some of the overarching questions including:
When those trees are logged, not only does it terminate their jobs at atmospheric carbon-removal, but eighty percent of the carbon they’ve stored is released to the atmosphere. In addition, the heavy equipment to cut the forests, from feller bunchers to logging trucks, causes soil compaction, biodiversity loss, and releases even more greenhouse gasses. All further accelerate climate change.
Allowing second growth forests to mature into old-growth character are a sound investment in our future. The idea of "resiliency" has been an ecological term that has been adopted by the Forest Service, but much debate remains on what that term means. Below is a discussion of "resilience" to help clarify this. In short, allowing natural processes to be the main driver of forest structure and health allows forests to heal and develop in the ways they have evolved to do so for millennia. Unfortunately, many forests are facing significant pressures through logging for "forest health, restoration, and resiliency" justifications
The role of providing the nation with timber for construction materials, furniture, and paper is now amply filled by privately-owned forests that supply ninety-five percent of our national needs. Even the menacingly destructive, polluting wood pellet industry relies on private forests, primarily in the southeast, shipping the fuel product to European countries where shredded trees contribute even more carbon to the atmosphere than burning coal. Our national forests are now far more valuable for their role in helping to stabilize climate, protecting wildlife habitat, ensuring clean water supplies, and offering respite and recreational opportunities for current and future generations. Humans and wildlife both need room to roam.
There are plenty of current and historic precedents for alternative ways to manage our national forests the USFS already employs. By establishing no-log special management areas, such as has been done in some places, our mature and old-growth forests could be protected.
As the USFS and BLM move forward to establish a Rule to govern a new era in management of our National Forests, we ask citizens like you to call upon the Forest Service to prioritize preserving mature and old-growth in our national forests, our public lands, for their value to the public, in climate change mitigation, clean air and water, wildlife habitat, biodiversity and recreation.
On the third of the Forest Service's above questions, yes it is important that regional realities be addressed. While the above recommendations apply to our forests nationwide, there are significant issues that are specific to Eastern landscapes that it is overdue for the agency to address. While the ideas and issues discussed above cover many of the core issues, below are some further topics if you wish to dig deeper and customize your comments further, with real-examples of from Eastern National Forests. Check them out! We encourage you to take a few moments and support our public lands by being a voice for forest protection and our National Forests role as our homelands of ecological sustainability. The Forest Service takes individualized comments more seriously, so make your thoughts your own.
The Forest Service has announced its Proposed Rulemaking for mature and old-growth forests. The public has through July 20 to comment. This will help direct the overall management of the 188 million acre National Forest system. This analysis and request for comment covers broad-based questions that get at the heart of the overall direction of the agency. Your voice is needed to help encourage the Forest Service to focus on a land ethic that promotes preservation of our public lands heritage.
The announcement (linked above) requests comments on a battery of questions, with some of the overarching questions including:
- How should the Forest Service adapt current policies and develop new policies and actions to conserve and manage the national forests and grasslands for climate resilience, so that the Agency can provide for ecological integrity and support social and economic sustainability over time?
- How should the Forest Service assess, plan for and prioritize conservation and climate resilience at different organizational levels of planning and management of the National Forest System (e.g., national strategic direction and planning; regional and unit planning, projects and activities)?
- What kinds of conservation, management or adaptation practices may be effective at fostering climate resilience on forests and grasslands at different geographic scales?
When those trees are logged, not only does it terminate their jobs at atmospheric carbon-removal, but eighty percent of the carbon they’ve stored is released to the atmosphere. In addition, the heavy equipment to cut the forests, from feller bunchers to logging trucks, causes soil compaction, biodiversity loss, and releases even more greenhouse gasses. All further accelerate climate change.
Allowing second growth forests to mature into old-growth character are a sound investment in our future. The idea of "resiliency" has been an ecological term that has been adopted by the Forest Service, but much debate remains on what that term means. Below is a discussion of "resilience" to help clarify this. In short, allowing natural processes to be the main driver of forest structure and health allows forests to heal and develop in the ways they have evolved to do so for millennia. Unfortunately, many forests are facing significant pressures through logging for "forest health, restoration, and resiliency" justifications
- In Vermont: Green Mountain National Forest, 11,000 acres, including mature and old-growth, face a clear-cut.
- In Indiana: Hoosier National Forest, USFS plans threatens 9,000 acres of forest, prescribed burns on another 28,000 acres and building more than 27 miles of roads.
- In Kentucky: Daniel Boone National Forest: 10,000 acres of forest including mature and old-growth, much of it on steep, erosion-prone slopes.
- In West Virginia: Monongahela, 3500 acres of forest, mature and old-growth, steep slopes, erosion-prone.
- In North Carolina: Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest, the USFS plan puts over 12,000 acres of old-growth on the chopping block.
The role of providing the nation with timber for construction materials, furniture, and paper is now amply filled by privately-owned forests that supply ninety-five percent of our national needs. Even the menacingly destructive, polluting wood pellet industry relies on private forests, primarily in the southeast, shipping the fuel product to European countries where shredded trees contribute even more carbon to the atmosphere than burning coal. Our national forests are now far more valuable for their role in helping to stabilize climate, protecting wildlife habitat, ensuring clean water supplies, and offering respite and recreational opportunities for current and future generations. Humans and wildlife both need room to roam.
There are plenty of current and historic precedents for alternative ways to manage our national forests the USFS already employs. By establishing no-log special management areas, such as has been done in some places, our mature and old-growth forests could be protected.
As the USFS and BLM move forward to establish a Rule to govern a new era in management of our National Forests, we ask citizens like you to call upon the Forest Service to prioritize preserving mature and old-growth in our national forests, our public lands, for their value to the public, in climate change mitigation, clean air and water, wildlife habitat, biodiversity and recreation.
On the third of the Forest Service's above questions, yes it is important that regional realities be addressed. While the above recommendations apply to our forests nationwide, there are significant issues that are specific to Eastern landscapes that it is overdue for the agency to address. While the ideas and issues discussed above cover many of the core issues, below are some further topics if you wish to dig deeper and customize your comments further, with real-examples of from Eastern National Forests. Check them out! We encourage you to take a few moments and support our public lands by being a voice for forest protection and our National Forests role as our homelands of ecological sustainability. The Forest Service takes individualized comments more seriously, so make your thoughts your own.
What Are Old Growth Forests?
Few stands of old growth forest remain as it was the first part of the country to grow in the early United States. However, many areas that were reforested in the late 19th and early 20th centuries have matured to where they are taking on many of the important characteristics that make old growth forests so ecologically important. What are these traits and what are some misconceptions about old growth forests? We have a quick introduction to clear that up, with some cool pictures! |
Fire and Other Factors that Shape Eastern Forests
While natural and human-caused fire has history on the landscape in the East, it is complex and still not-fully understood. Unfortunately, National Forest fire management has problems that arise from planning and budgeting that often reflect the task of managing vast, drier Western forests. Also, Eastern forest ecology is heavily tied to managing our forests for timber production. Regional differences matter and that we still have a lot to learn about fire's role. Problems with this has sometimes resulted in significant mistakes and impacts on the ground. It's time for the agency to reshape policy to better fit the region.... |