September 9, 2024
The U.S. Forest Service is currently taking comments on its proposed National Old Growth Amendment (NOGA). This amendment comes after the Biden Administration's Executive Order 14072 to conserve and expand old growth forests across the country.
Old growth forests are not only beautiful, but they are effective carbon sinks; important for air, water and soil quality; and key habitats for biodiversity. They are also increasingly rare, which this amendment needs to change. You can speak for the trees by submitting a comment today!
- Submit a comment starting with Sierra Club's template by September 19 at https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/National?actionId=AR0449168
- Submit your own comment by September 20 at https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//CommentInput?Project=65356
A few improvements that we, here in Wisconsin, would like to see include:
- Halting the cutting of mature and old-growth trees in national forests and stop the commercial exchange of old-growth trees. These trees are precious and are keys to carbon sequestration, biodiversity, soil health and more. These trees should not be cut and sent to the mill.
- Ending the cutting of old-growth trees in moist forest types and plan for climate mitigation in forestry management. The current amendment DEIS fails to adequately acknowledge the precipitation and flooding increases in the Eastern United States, instead focusing on drought conditions in the Western United States. Improvements to the NOGA must be made to better prepare forestry management in the Eastern half of the country for wetter, warmer weather. The benefits of old growth forests on climate resiliency and mitigation in our region (region 9) must be further prioritized in the NOGA.
- Expanding protections of mature trees and forests, especially in region 9. Only 1.1% of forests in the Upper Midwest are old growth. To expand the amount of old growth forests, mature trees must be protected so that they are able to grow to old growth.