The Forests and Wildlife Stewards are asking: Can we save more of our precious old-growth forests? They protect our climate by absorbing and storing carbon, boost resilience to fire, help regulate temperatures, filter drinking water, shelter wildlife, and give endless recreational value.
To that end, the US Forest Service has proposed an amendment to the Forest Act that will affect all its 128 units. Unfortunately, the draft Environmental Impact Statement fails to protect old-growth forests. Instead, it allows these special, big trees to be sent to the mill, and allows agency staff to manage old-growth out of existence - in pursuit of “proactive stewardship” goals. The draft also contains ambiguous language that could justify continued commercial logging of old growth in the Tongass. And there is a sunset to the rules, which will make it all temporary. It is a proposal that a lumber company could love.
Submit a comment to the U.S. Forest Service asking them to:
- Stop old-growth trees from going to the mill. There is broad agreement that what we have left is too precious to cut.
- Lay groundwork for durable protections for mature forests, to ensure that they are able to develop into our next generation of old-growth forests
We have until Friday, September 20th to comment, and the past has shown that our comments can make a difference. To learn more, see this free 58 minute documentary; it’s an entertaining tour in three US forests. To get a feel for the show, see this one minute trailer.
When you submit your comments, there is a “suggested” statement, but personalization is best. Feel free to strike some of the existing language and add in comments about permanent protection, no loopholes, and no further logging. Please get your comments in by September 20th, and alert your friends and family to this cause, so their comments can help avert a crisis for our national old-growth forests.
To garner even more support, the Stewards are hosting an online event August 27th, with a video showing, discussion, and Q & A.