Release: Environmental groups urge President Biden to protect old-growth forests in North Carolina

Raleigh, NC – A broad coalition of environmental groups in North Carolina sent a letter to President Biden on Monday, urging his administration to issue a strong Nationwide Old-Growth Amendment to prohibit the sale of logged old-growth wood for any reason and include mature trees as well as those that have reached old-growth stage.

Two years ago, President Biden signed Executive Order 14072 directing federal agencies to inventory mature and old-growth forests on U.S. federal lands and to develop policies to protect them. In response, the U.S. Forest Service announced plans to amend management plans, adopting standards for managing old-growth. Environmental groups welcomed the announcement as an important first step and are calling for strong protections for older trees in the final amendment. 

“Old-growth and mature forests are a part of North Carolina’s natural heritage that we should treasure,” said Environment North Carolina Advocate, Emily Mason. “Old-growth trees used to take up a much larger share of the forests in North Carolina. For the benefit of future generations, It’s important that we protect what little is left and ensure that mature trees can grow to become old-growth trees one day.”

North Carolina’s old-growth trees provide many benefits, including actively absorbing more carbon than younger trees, providing habitat for important wildlife and fostering a diverse ecosystem. The benefits of old-growth trees continue after their lifespan is over, including providing food for other plants once they begin to decay and recycling their stored carbon into the soil to make the ground a carbon sink. 

“Last year was the hottest summer in 2000 years, putting lives at risk,” said Mason. “By absorbing planet-warming carbon emissions, North Carolina’s oldest trees are some of the best natural solutions to climate change that our state has. We lose that the second we chop them down.”