President Biden announces new protections for old growth trees

On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced a proposed national forest plan amendment, which will change policies for managing old-growth woodlands across the National Forest System. The amendment would protect the last remaining old-growth trees in national forests by adding new safeguards against logging.

This action is a step toward fulfilling the promise of President Joe Biden’s April 2022 Executive Order, which directs the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior to address threats to mature and old-growth forests on federal lands and develop policies to conserve them.

“We thank President Biden and the Forest Service for taking this historic step to protect old-growth national forests from logging. The old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest are some of the most amazing in the world,” said Celeste Meiffren-Swango, state director with Environment Oregon. “Walking between their giant trunks and crane your neck to try to see the top is one of the most amazing parts of living in this part of the country. Not only do they inspire wonder but also our old-growth forests capture and store carbon, so protecting them is essential in our fight against climate change.”

Over the summer and into the fall, Environment Oregon staff have been knocking on doors to build support for protecting mature and old growth trees on all federal land in Oregon and across the country. In July, Environment America (the national office of Environment Oregon and Environment Washington) and our coalition partners delivered more than 500,000 public comments to the Forest Service calling for the agency to adopt a rule that protects mature and old-growth trees and forests on federal land as a cornerstone of U.S. climate policy. Thousands of those comments came from people living in the Pacific Northwest.

“We hope that this exciting announcement sets a precedent for protecting all of our most valuable trees and forests,” said Pam Clough, Environment Washington advocate. “The federal Bureau of Land Management, which also manages old-growth trees and forests in Oregon and Washington, should adopt the same policy of protecting old-growth forests from being included in timber sales. We urge the Forest Service to immediately halt all current timber sales that target old-growth trees and keep these gentle giants standing.”