Update: The Sierra Club is asking members to sign this petition asking the Biden administration to take bold action when it comes to protecting our old growth forests. This petition will remain open until Feb. 2 - sign now to make sure your voice is heard! And please remember to leave a personal comment stating why this issue matters to you.
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The Biden administration announced in December a proposal to ban logging in old-growth forests, a move meant to help combat the effects of climate change and deforestation.
This plan would particularly impact the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, which cover more than 1 million acres throughout western North Carolina, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous praised the move, calling it “a groundbreaking step towards fulfilling President Biden’s promise to protect our old-growth trees and mature forests, and we need to make sure it’s not the last.” Read the rest of his statement here.
However, the proposal does not limit logging activities in “mature forests,” which are forests that have not yet reached old-growth stage. Environmental advocates, including the Sierra Club, say they hope to see these restrictions on logging expanded to include mature forests, which the Associated Press reports covers three times as much forest service land as old-growth forests.
Read more about this historic proposal below:
- Biden Administration Finally Moves to Protect Remaining Old-Growth Forests From Logging (Huffington Post)
- Biden administration moves to protect old-growth forests as climate change brings fires, pests (Associated Press)
- US Forest Service Proposes to Conserve Old-Growth Forests, Including Pisgah and Nantahala (Asheville Citizen-Times)
- Joe Biden plans to ban logging in US old-growth forests in 2025 (The Guardian
- Biden moves to ban most old-growth logging in national forests (The Washington Post)