Old-growth trees are being logged in Wisconsin

The Fourmile Project in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin allows logging over 12,000 acres, including clearcutting 1,000 acres and building multiple logging roads. This logging, which was approved under President Trump in 2020, threatens vulnerable species like wood turtles and American pine martens. And to make matters worse, most of the trees are going to be turned into pulp, which can be used to make products like toilet paper and post-its.

Unfortunately, in late 2023, logging began in the project area. Advocates from the Environmental Law and Policy Center have visited the area where logging is in progress and found evidence of old-growth trees (140+ years old) being cut. In addition, these advocates observed that the logging is happening on soft ground, as opposed to frozen ground, which can cause more damage to the soil.

It is not too late to stop the logging.

We have already lost trees that will take more than a century to grow back. The U.S. Forest Service should pause the Fourmile project immediately. The agency should then reconsider the project in light of the Biden administration’s plans to protect present and future old-growth areas and issue a new plan for Fourmile. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest needs a plan that protects our mature and old-growth trees.