Environmental groups and industry at odds over plan to conserve old-growth forests

By Danielle Kaeding
Wisconsin Public Radio
October 3, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Some Wisconsin groups are urging the Biden administration to do more to protect mature and old-growth forests under its proposal to conserve those trees as logging interests are pushing back against changes. Environmental groups say the U.S. Forest Service has received more than 1 million comments to protect old-growth forests from logging since President Joe Biden issued an executive order to conserve them two years ago. The directive called for reducing the risk of wildfires and developing policies to make the nation’s forests more resilient to climate change. The U.S. Forest Service released a draft environmental impact statement of its plan to conserve older forests and limit logging, but the agency stopped short of a ban on logging old-growth forests. The Forest Service proposal would revise plans for 122 national forests, including the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin.

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