US moves to protect old growth forests as climate change threatens their survival
1 year, 3 months ago

US moves to protect old growth forests as climate change threatens their survival

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. President Joseph Biden's administration appears to be aiming for a middle ground: It would sharply limit commercial timber harvests in old growth forests while allowing logging to continue on “mature forests” that have not yet reached old growth stage. “This is the first time the Forest Service has said it’s national policy will be to protect old growth.” Yet experts say there’s no simple formula to determine what’s old. The Forest Service and federal Bureau of Land Management combined oversee more than 50,000 square miles of old growth forests and about 125,000 square miles of mature forests, according to the inventory. “Is that the correct emphasis right now when most of the old growth losses are coming from insects, fire and climate change stressors working in tandem?” The proposal to revise management plans for 128 national forests and national grasslands is expected to be completed by early 2025.

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History of this topic

Faye D. Flam: We must conserve ageing life forms for the planet’s sake
2 months ago

Faye D. Flam: We must conserve ageing life forms for the planet’s sake

Live Mint  

The oldest living things matter to the world in ways nobody understood a few decades ago. If US President Donald Trump follows through on threats to abandon efforts to curb carbon emissions, then preserving old trees will be our next best strategy in the fight. Progress has included completing the first US survey of old growth, which mapped out ancient …

Biden administration withdraws old-growth forest plan after getting pushback from industry and GOP
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Biden administration withdraws old-growth forest plan after getting pushback from industry and GOP

Associated Press  

— The Biden administration on Tuesday abruptly dropped its nascent plan to protect old-growth forests after getting pushback from Republicans and the timber industry. “There was also feedback that there are important place-based differences that we will need to understand in order to conserve old-growth forests.” Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines in a statement called the withdrawal of the …

Forest survey misses the wood for the trees
3 months ago

Forest survey misses the wood for the trees

Hindustan Times  

Expanding green cover in the country should normally be heartening, but the true story of India’s forests lies beyond the marginal growth in forest and tree cover recorded in the latest edition of the India State of Forest Report. To be sure, as the climate crisis unfolds, reafforestation figures high among mitigation efforts, and, against this backdrop, the 1,445 sq …

More logging is proposed to help curb wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest
4 months, 1 week ago

More logging is proposed to help curb wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

Associated Press  

U.S. officials would allow increased logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest in the name of fighting wildfires and boosting rural economies under proposed changes to a sweeping forest management plan that’s been in place for three decades. The U.S. Forest Service proposal, released Friday, would overhaul the Northwest Forest Plan that governs about 38,000 square miles in Oregon, …

Biden administration old growth forest proposal doesn't ban logging, but still angers industry
9 months, 1 week ago

Biden administration old growth forest proposal doesn't ban logging, but still angers industry

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

California’s mountains are too warm for some trees to survive. Inside these ‘zombie forests’
1 year, 4 months ago

California’s mountains are too warm for some trees to survive. Inside these ‘zombie forests’

LA Times  

There’s something eerie about this forest in the southern Sierra Nevada. Researchers at Stanford University found in a recent study that roughly one-fifth of all conifer forests in the Sierra are mismatched with the warmer climate and have become “zombie forests.” “The name ‘zombie forest’ is kind of kitschy, but I’ve come to find that it is haunting,” said ecologist …

US inventory: old forests cover area larger than California
1 year, 11 months ago

US inventory: old forests cover area larger than California

Associated Press  

— The Biden administration has identified more than 175,000 square miles of old growth and mature forests on U.S. government land and plans to craft a new rule to better protect the nation’s woodlands from fires, insects and other side effects of climate change, officials said Thursday. U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands combined have more than …

Feds send $930 million to curb ‘crisis’ of US West wildfires
2 years, 2 months ago

Feds send $930 million to curb ‘crisis’ of US West wildfires

Associated Press  

— The U.S. is directing $930 million toward reducing wildfire dangers in 10 western states by clearing trees and underbrush from national forests, the Biden administration announced Thursday, as officials struggle to protect communities from destructive infernos being made worse by climate change. You’re seeing entire neighborhoods devastated.” Vilsack said the projects announced so far will help reduce wildfire risk …

As climate change progresses, trees in cities struggle
2 years, 4 months ago

As climate change progresses, trees in cities struggle

LA Times  

Lisa Ciecko, a Seattle Parks and Recreation plant ecologist, looks at a tree on Oct. 7 in Seattle. Cities across the world have promised to plant more carbon-absorbing trees to help fight climate change As the driest summer in Seattle’s record books ended, trees across the city were sounding silent alarms. “Once these trees are established, they grow incredibly fast,” …

US to plant billion trees as climate change kills forests
2 years, 8 months ago

US to plant billion trees as climate change kills forests

India Today  

The Biden administration on Monday said the government will plant more than one billion trees across millions of acres of burned and dead woodlands in the U.S. West, as officials struggle to counter the increasing toll on the nation’s forests from wildfires, insects and other manifestations of climate change. That comes after Congress last year passed bipartisan legislation directing the …

US to plant 1 billion trees as climate change kills forests
2 years, 8 months ago

US to plant 1 billion trees as climate change kills forests

Associated Press  

— The Biden administration on Monday said the government will plant more than one billion trees across millions of acres of burned and dead woodlands in the U.S. West, as officials struggle to counter the increasing toll on the nation’s forests from wildfires, insects and other manifestations of climate change. That comes after Congress last year passed bipartisan legislation directing …

US solicits help as it defines old growth and mature forests
2 years, 8 months ago

US solicits help as it defines old growth and mature forests

Associated Press  

— U.S. officials on Thursday solicited outside help as they craft definitions of old growth and mature forests under an executive order from President Joe Biden. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management issued a notice seeking public input for a “universal definition framework” to identify older forests needing protection. Biden’s order called for the Forest Service and …

Editorial: Climate change is killing California’s iconic trees
2 years, 8 months ago

Editorial: Climate change is killing California’s iconic trees

LA Times  

Firefighters and forest ecologists are again scrambling to save ancient giant sequoia trees from the threat posed by increasingly fast, powerful and destructive wildfires that have raged through California in recent years. So far, Methuselah, a 4,853-year-old bristlecone pine that may be the oldest living tree on Earth, has remained free of bark beetles, Times reporter Louis Sahagun wrote last …

Biden forest plan stirs dispute over what counts as “old”
2 years, 10 months ago

Biden forest plan stirs dispute over what counts as “old”

Associated Press  

— President Joe Biden’s order to protect the nation’s oldest forests against climate change, wildfires and other problems devastating vast woodlands is raising a simple yet vexing question: When does a forest grow old? Millions of acres are potentially on the line — federal land that could eventually get new protections or remain open to logging as the administration decides …

Biden order aims to protect old-growth forests from wildfire
2 years, 11 months ago

Biden order aims to protect old-growth forests from wildfire

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy President Joe Biden is taking …

Biden order aims to protect old-growth forests from wildfire
2 years, 11 months ago

Biden order aims to protect old-growth forests from wildfire

LA Times  

The Pioneer Tree at Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Northern California, one of the few remaining old-growth coastal redwoods, after it collapsed from a fire last month. Old-growth trees are key buffers against climate change and provide crucial carbon sinks that absorb significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, scientists say. Biden’s …

Biden signs order to protect US old-growth forests from wildfires
2 years, 11 months ago

Biden signs order to protect US old-growth forests from wildfires

Al Jazeera  

On Earth Day, US president pledges to plant 1.2 billion trees and compile inventory of old-growth across the country. US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to strengthen the protection of the country’s old-growth forests in a push to combat the climate crisis that has worsened wildfires and other environmental disasters. Biden also announced a plan to plant …

Editorial: California lost thousands of giant sequoias. It’s tragic, but at least we are aware
3 years, 3 months ago

Editorial: California lost thousands of giant sequoias. It’s tragic, but at least we are aware

LA Times  

Pretty much anyone who has had the privilege of standing next to one of the biggest, oldest giant sequoia trees understands the rush of awe. But as the public tracked the fight against the KNP Complex fire in September, which threatened giant sequoias to the point where their lower parts had to be tucked under fire-resistant foil blankets, it might …

California wildfires have killed almost 20% of world’s giant sequoias over past two years
3 years, 4 months ago

California wildfires have killed almost 20% of world’s giant sequoias over past two years

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy California wildfires have destroyed nearly 20 per cent of the world’s population of giant sequoia …

Experts Bemoan Biden’s Mixed Messages On Old-Growth Forests
3 years, 4 months ago

Experts Bemoan Biden’s Mixed Messages On Old-Growth Forests

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING A group of U.S. forest ecologists, climate scientists and conservationists are calling out what they view as a “huge disconnect” between President Joe Biden’s rhetoric about the urgent need to combat deforestation and the policies he’s advancing back home. pic.twitter.com/Ehfx2x3cRx — Forbes November 2, 2021 His comments came a day after the White House released a 65-page …

Impact of forest thinning on wildfires creates divisions
3 years, 5 months ago

Impact of forest thinning on wildfires creates divisions

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Firefighters and numerous studies credit intensive forest thinning projects with helping save communities like those recently threatened near Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada, but dissent from some environmental advocacy groups is roiling the scientific community. “Not only did tens of thousands of acres of recent thinning, fuel breaks, and other forest management fail to stop or …

Can 2,500-year-old sequoias be saved by 25-year-old climate activists?
3 years, 6 months ago

Can 2,500-year-old sequoias be saved by 25-year-old climate activists?

LA Times  

A giant sequoia near Springville, Calif., was decapitated in the Castle fire in August 2020. Writing on The Times’ op-ed page, 25-year-old Daniel Propp identifies the only productive response by people like him — becoming an activist: “Beyond hope there is more than despair. The ship may sink, but we are going to swim like hell toward shore.” It’s almost …

Climate change, logging collide -- and a forest shrinks
3 years, 6 months ago

Climate change, logging collide -- and a forest shrinks

Associated Press  

— Looking down a hillside dotted with large stumps and nearly devoid of trees, a pair of retired U.S. Forest Service employees lamented logging policies they helped craft to deal with two harbingers of climate change -- pine beetles and wildfires. Timber production dramatically ramped up two decades ago in the Black Hills National Forest along the South Dakota-Wyoming border, …

Fires shut Sequoia National Park, could threaten huge trees
3 years, 6 months ago

Fires shut Sequoia National Park, could threaten huge trees

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Sequoia National Park was shut …

California will spend $500 million to thin its 33 million acres of forests to help prevent wildfires
3 years, 9 months ago

California will spend $500 million to thin its 33 million acres of forests to help prevent wildfires

Daily Mail  

California is adopting former Donald Trump's plan to thin out the state's 33 million acres of forests with controlled burns and raking the woodland floor - after state officials essentially laughed off the former president's idea a few years ago. Now, California is putting Trump's plan into practice statewide as groups of 12-person crews set about a $500 million effort …

Last year’s Castle fire killed at least 10% of world’s giant sequoias, study says
3 years, 9 months ago

Last year’s Castle fire killed at least 10% of world’s giant sequoias, study says

LA Times  

At least one-tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoia trees were destroyed by a single California wildfire that tore through the southern Sierra Nevada last year, according to a draft report prepared by scientists with the National Park Service. The Visalia Times-Delta obtained a copy of the report, which describes catastrophic destruction from the Castle fire, which charred 273 square …

California fire killed 10% of world’s redwood trees, study says
3 years, 9 months ago

California fire killed 10% of world’s redwood trees, study says

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy At least a tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoias were destroyed by a single …

Biden's Climate Chops Face A Big Test On Old-Growth Forests
3 years, 10 months ago

Biden's Climate Chops Face A Big Test On Old-Growth Forests

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING In the Cascade Mountain Range of west-central Oregon, near the small town of MacKenzie Bridge, is an area of Willamette National Forest that’s home to a patchwork of mature Douglas fir and western hemlock. Those commitments include broad language about the need to “invest in forest protection and forest management” and to “fight climate change with the …

Trees are 'getting shorter due to climate change'
4 years, 9 months ago

Trees are 'getting shorter due to climate change'

Daily Mail  

Trees are getting shorter due to climate change with their size dropping drastically over the last century alone, a landmark study has claimed. Meanwhile, rising carbon dioxide levels have offered little respite to older trees as they only increase growth in young forests with abundant nutrients and water. The introduction of managed woodland, pictured, will also change the appearance of …

Older forests have a limit to how much CO2 they absorb, planting new forests could help in fight against climate change
4 years, 11 months ago

Older forests have a limit to how much CO2 they absorb, planting new forests could help in fight against climate change

Firstpost  

Can’t we just plant more trees, convert our empty lands into forests and wish away global warming? “Just as we expected, the trees took in about 12 percent more carbon under the enriched CO2 conditions,” said Belinda Medlyn, Professor at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, i n a statement. According to a statement by the University, “the extra carbon …

Forest Service moves to open "America’s Amazon" to loggers
5 years, 3 months ago

Forest Service moves to open "America’s Amazon" to loggers

Salon  

Trump’s National Forest Service is using a refuted scientific theory to justify building roads in our country’s largest national forest, what some call “America’s Amazon.” Loggers want to raze trees more than 1,000 years old. The Forest Service says guidelines from the United Nations’ climate authority would be followed. Beverly Law, an Oregon State University professor, says the Trump administration’s …

Trump's forest service moves to open 'America's Amazon' to loggers
5 years, 3 months ago

Trump's forest service moves to open 'America's Amazon' to loggers

Raw Story  

Trump’s Forest Service is using a refuted scientific theory to justify building roads in our country’s largest national forest, what some call “America’s Amazon.” Loggers want to raze trees more than 1,000 years old. The discredited study says the environmental impact of more logging in the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska would be temporary and “may be completely reversed …

Restoring forests 1 tree at a time, to help repair climate
5 years, 5 months ago

Restoring forests 1 tree at a time, to help repair climate

Associated Press  

MADRE DE DIOS, Peru — Destruction of the forests can be swift. Companies planted “desperation species” — grasses with shallow roots or non-native trees that could endure, but wouldn’t reach their full height or restore the forest as it had been. Now Michael French, director of operations for the Kentucky-based nonprofit Green Forests Work, and his colleagues are collaborating with …

Op-Ed: Gov. Brown’s wildfire plan will only make things worse
6 years, 10 months ago

Op-Ed: Gov. Brown’s wildfire plan will only make things worse

LA Times  

Responding to the tragic losses of homes and lives in wildland fires in California over the past year, Gov. Jerry Brown announced a “major offensive” against fire, in the form of a “Forest Carbon Plan.” The governor proposes to use $254 million of taxpayer money to double logging levels in California’s forests — to “at least” 500,000 acres a year …

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