The U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service are soliciting comments and feedback on the creation of new management policies for old-growth forests across the county. …Andrew Sánchez Meador, executive director of the Ecological Restoration Institute based out of Northern Arizona University, said he believes the effort represents a positive shift in how old-growth forests are managed. …Within the national forest southwestern region, which includes the Coconino and Kaibab national forests as well as several others across Arizona and New Mexico, nearly 14% of forested areas fit the definition for old growth. The primary threat to that remaining old-growth forest was identified by federal officials as catastrophic wildfire. …The Ecological Restoration Institute assisted the initial effort back in 2022, and Sánchez Meador said they hoped to emphasize differences in necessary management strategies based on the type of forest.