Region Archives: US East

Forest preservation activists are waiting to see whether their lawsuit to stop logging on about 3,760 acres on public lands around Camel’s Hump still has life.  Activist group Standing Trees and Duxbury residents Jamison Ervin and Alan Pierce asked Vermont Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi on Sept. 26 to reconsider his Sept. 1 dismissal of their November 2022 lawsuit against the state.  The lawsuit claims that officials violated public process laws regarding plans to start logging in the Camel’s Hump Management Unit, a stretch of about 26,000 acres in north-central Vermont that includes the popular mountain and state park. The lawsuit named the commissioners of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.  State officials announced in late 2021 that 34 commercial timber harvests were planned for the next 15 years, totaling about 3,764 acres.

Environmental advocacy groups are petitioning the U.S. Forest Service to suspend a logging project in Northeastern Wisconsin, according to a petition letter from the Environmental Law and Policy center.  The project, known as the Fourmile Vegetation Project, would clear nearly 12,000 acres of mature forest in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, according to a report from the USDA Forest Service.  The logging project in the state’s Northwoods has been on pause due to required environmental reviews conducted by the Forest Service. Now, the Environmental Law and Policy Center and 28 other organizations are trying to shut the Fourmile Project down permanently.  Proponents of the project, like Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association Executive Director Henry Schienebeck, argue the project is in line with the Forest Service’s data and management plans, according to an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio.

Nicholas Larson

When it comes to wildfires in the United States, in any given year more than half happen in the Southeast. In 2022, the South had approximately 39,000 wildfires. The South is also one of the fastest growing regions in the nation, and increasingly more homes are being built near forested lands. Together this creates complex challenges for protecting communities from wildfires and restoring the natural role of fire in national forests. “Ongoing wildfires help us understand the importance and need to create and maintain fire resilient landscapes,” said Nicholas Larson, district ranger in North Carolina. …In April and May 2023, North Carolina’s Great Lakes Fire on the Croatan National Forest became a prime example of how multiyear prescribed fire treatments aid wildfire suppression. The prescribed burns previously completed in the area created defensible space for the communities near the Croatan and buffered the wildfire threat.

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — I have been fortunate to work in the forest industry for 26 years and have witnessed firsthand the positive economic impact of our sector on rural communities across the US. This impact becomes tangible when you think about all the people it takes to plant trees, manage forest land, harvest timber, transport logs to mills and manufacture the sustainable forest-based products we all rely on in daily life, like paper, cardboard, plywood and lumber. …Beyond these economic benefits, the forest sector also plays a critical role in mitigating climate change. The U.S. cannot reach its ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 without a healthy forest sector. Currently, forests capture and store more than 15% of our nation’s annual carbon emissions. Working forests must remain healthy and intact to continue providing these carbon storage benefits.

…You’d never guess that Ohio had old-growth forests — and not only that, but Ohio has more ancient forests than any other state. When we think of “old-growth forests” in the U.S., places like Sequoia National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and Tongass National Forest come to mind. …Ohio, if you can believe it, has more old growth forests than any other state. This October, the Old-Growth Forest Network sanctioned two new Ohio forests to its ranks: Stage’s Pond State Nature Preserve and the Lindy Roosenburg Preserve. With the addition of these forests, Ohio now has 30 old-growth forests recognized by the network, more than any other state. …Despite their name, “old-growth forests” refer more to a forest’s properties than its age. Experts look at certain criteria that form a forest’s ecological community, such as what’s living in and around these trees and the kind of biomes they’re fostering.

Chris Field

The Harvard Forest and the Harvard University Center for the Environment hosted a lecture, titled “The Changing Landscape of Western Wildfire Risk”. The talk focused on the ecological and economic impacts of wildfires on the West Coast. Chris B. Field, the director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment… said climate change has been “imposing a pressure for ecosystems to keep up with the temperature changes.” Research shows that the rates of movement of tree ranges are small compared to the overall changes undergone by climate zones. “It begs the question of whether we’re already seeing situations in which forest ecosystems are essentially being left behind, that climate zones to which they’re adapted over the long range have shifted, and trees may not have been able to keep up,” Field said. In addition to impacts on the ecosystem, wildfires may also cause greater rates of economic inequality.”

Jackson State University is the recipient of a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as announced by JSU Acting President Elayne Hayes-Anthony, Ph.D., during a press conference in the JSU Blackburn Learning Garden Friday, Oct. 13,. The award is one of the largest in the university’s history. Proceeds will help fuel The Gateways to a Greener Jackson, an initiative led by JSU to engage and employ community partners in the completion of projects that enhance equitable access to tree canopy, reduce stormwater runoff and implement and maintain green spaces in underrepresented communities. City collaborators are Jackson, Rolling Fork, Vicksburg and Greenville, Mississippi.

The Old-Growth Forest Network welcomed two Ohio forests to its ranks this October: Stage’s Pond State Nature Preserve just south of Columbus and the Lindy Roosenburg Preserve near Athens.  The network now recognizes 30 largely undisturbed forests in Ohio, more than any other state. (We’re neck and neck with Pennsylvania, which has 28.)  As part of the Old-Growth Forest Network, these forests are protected from commercial logging and development, and they’re made open and available to the public.  …The network is trying to preserve one forest in every county of the country — and that’s no easy task. It estimates more than 99% of old-growth forests in the eastern U.S. have already been removed or radically altered. …Ohio’s network of old-growth forests spans the state: there are now protected forests near every major city, from Cincinnati to Cleveland, Toledo to Athens, and everywhere in between.

The United States Department of Agriculture has awarded a $12 million grant to plant more trees in Milwaukee. This comes after the American Forests named Milwaukee a top 20 U.S. city for tree equity disparity. Milwaukee itself has a 25% tree coverage rate, but some Milwaukee neighborhoods have just more than 6%. How the money will be used is still in the planning stage. It is not yet clear when the trees will be planted or exactly where. City officials will also be working with Milwaukee Public Schools to remove some paved playgrounds to make more green space in those areas. The city has not yet released what type of trees will be planted. The most common trees found in Milwaukee are the sugar maple, the northern oak and the katsura tree. An exact number of trees has yet to be released. The city currently maintains 200,000 trees.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced today that New York State was awarded $13.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program. Funded through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, this grant program is designed to increase equitable access to trees and green spaces in urban and community forests to support building a clean energy economy, advance environmental justice, and create economic opportunity. …This significant funding for New York is part of a $1.5-billion federal investment in Urban and Community Forestry projects across the country, including more than $73.5 million for 28 forestry projects across the state. This historic support highlights the importance of urban forests in combating climate change through cooling air, buildings, and pavement; reducing stormwater runoff; improving air quality; and much more. 

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced more than $1.35 million in grants to six land trusts to help protect local forests that are key to achieving the state’s objectives to protect open space and reduce the emissions that cause climate change. Grant funding will be used to acquire new easements to help keep forests as forests, safeguarding the ecosystem services they provide that include stormwater mitigation, temperature regulation, carbon sequestration, and climate resiliency. …The grants, managed by DEC in partnership with the Land Trust Alliance, were made available through the Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts Grant Program. …Funding was provided by the State’s Environmental Protection Fund. In the 2023-24 State Budget, Governor Kathy Hochul maintained EPF funding at $400 million. 

SMILELY Creek, Idaho — The Ross Fork Fire burned 38,000 acres last summer in and around the Sawtooth Mountains. The fire burned hotter in more thickly forested areas, with less tree mortality in areas that had been “treated” with tree thinning of dead and diseased trees prior to the fire, according to a Forest Service report. Last week, Forest Service crews, tree planting contractors and about a dozen volunteers planted 24,000 Douglas fir trees on 120 acres in what had previously been a predominantly lodgepole pine forest. The goal was to restore the forest for public use and prepare for changes due to climate change. …Mills said despite the loss of trees and wildlife from the Ross Fork Fire, the lightening-caused blaze provided a natural test of the effectiveness of tree thinning that had previously been conducted to reduce the severity (results) and intensity (damaging characteristics) of wildfires.

Sewanee, Tennessee — This year marks the 100th anniversary of forestry at the University of the South. In 1923, John Bayard Snowden made a $50,000 endowment towards building the department. Sewanee has held one of the biggest forestry programs in the country… In 1859, the University was gifted a total of 10,000 acres of forestland on the Cumberland Plateau by the Sewanee Mining Company. Vice-Chancellor B.L. Wiggins requested assistance in forest management from the United States Bureau of Forestry, the organization preceding the United States Forest Service. Gifford Pinchot, head of the bureau and the man credited with being the father of American forestry, was struck by the forests of Sewanee and eagerly began managing the woodlands. This began a long and closely maintained relationship between Sewanee and the United States Bureau of Forestry.

KESHENA – First lady Dr. Jill Biden visited the Menominee Nation on Tuesday to learn about and commend the tribe’s sustainable practices. This marked the first time any first lady of the United States visited the reservation. “They just reached out to us if we were willing to host the first lady and, of course, we said ‘yes,’” tribal spokesman Randal Chevalier said. “The purpose of the visit is for the first lady to learn more about Menominee sustainable forestry and other practices that preserve and protect our resources for years to come.” …Biden and U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland made their first stop at the Menominee sawmill in Neopit, where they were greeted by Michael Skenandore, president of Menominee Tribal Enterprises, which operates the tribe’s lumber business. …Biden and Haaland completed their visit at the Menominee Hotel, where they spoke at the Women’s Empowerment Summit.

MINNESOTA — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to unlock $21.6 million in wildlife habitat grants threatened by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource’s handling of logging contracts on public hunting lands. In a letter this week to DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen, Chuck Traxler of the Fish and Wildlife Service said he’s confident the DNR’s “future actions” will comply with grant conditions that require any logging on state wildlife management areas and aquatic management areas to be carried out for wildlife purposes. Two months ago, Traxler took the unprecedented step of halting the grants — a major source of DNR funding — after the state agency acknowledged that it sold commercial logging permits on federally aided hunting lands without first documenting the wildlife purposes for those sales. …The two agencies met at Mille Lacs Wildlife Management Area and Whitewater Wildlife Management Area.

Additional coverage in the Duluth News Tribune, by John Myers: After changes by Minnesota DNR, feds release $21 million for state wildlife habitat

CINCINNATI, Ohio — A group of environmental protesters were arrested Wednesday morning after hanging a banner off the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge calling out consumer products giant Procter & Gamble for its impact the world’s forests. The protest is the latest by several nonprofit groups that object to the Cincinnati-based company’s sourcing for its paper products, including Charmin toilet paper, Bounty paper towels and Pampers diapers. Various environmental groups have criticized the company in recent years for harming boreal forests in Canada. P&G, which doesn’t own or manage any forests, acknowledges its paper products come from trees, but says it has sustainable environmental policies. “We are here today to demonstrate that we will not give up until P&G takes accountability and turns its paper promises into real world action,” said Maggie Martin with Rainforest Action Network. Environmental groups are urging shareholders not to vote for some of P&G’s board members.

GREENVILLE, S.C – The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment) acknowledges the significant findings of the California-focused report (The Human Health Benefits of Improving Forest Health in California: Investigating the Links Between Forest Management, Wildfire Smoke, and the Health Sector) released by the California Council on Science & Technology (CCST) and Blue Forest, which sheds light on the vital role of forest management in mitigating the harmful impacts of wildfire smoke on human health and healthcare systems. The Endowment’s commitment to advancing forest management is exemplified through its funding of this research, made possible by a grant to CCST and Blue Forest via the Innovative Finance for National Forests (IFNF) program, co-managed by the Endowment and the National Partnership Office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Through contributions like this, the Endowment continues to fulfill its mission of safeguarding and enhancing our nation’s working forests for the well-being of all.