Biden Administration Withdraws Old-Growth Forest Protection Plan

In a letter to forest supervisors on Tuesday, US Forest Service Chief Rand Moore announced that the Biden administration was withdrawing its plan to protect old-growth forests after receiving increasing pushback from Republicans and the US timber industry, the Associated Press reported (1-7-25).

It brings a sudden end to a yearslong process to craft a nationwide plan that would better protect old trees that are increasingly threatened by climate change. The effort had been supported by some conservationists as one of the most significant forest preservation efforts in decades.

The proposal went through extensive public comment periods and internal analyses by government officials and was due to be finalized any day. The plan would have limited logging in old-growth forests, with exceptions to allow logging in some old-growth areas to protect against wildfires.