DOLORES, Colo.— Forest health advocates have finalized an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service that will preserve tens of thousands of the largest, oldest ponderosa pine trees in Colorado’s San Juan National Forest. “Large, mature trees are critical for climate resilience, habitat and forest health” said John Rader, public lands program director for the San Juan Citizens Alliance. “We are pleased to reach a common-sense agreement that helps safeguard our forests from climate change and biodiversity loss.” In June 2023 San Juan Citizens Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity sued the Forest Service in federal court over its approval of a nearly 23,000-acre timber project in the Dolores District of the San Juan National Forest. The project area is a watershed for the Dolores River and provides important habitat for elk, mule deer and raptor, including imperiled goshawks. It was extensively logged throughout the 1900s, and few mature ponderosa pines remain.