Biden administration moves to protect oldest trees as climate change brings more fires, pests
Michael Donnelly stands in a grove of old-growth trees in the off-trail area of the Opal Creek Wilderness area, July 30, 2015, east of Salem, Ore. The Biden administration is moving to conserve groves of old-growth trees on federal lands by revising management plans for all national forests and grasslands in the U.S. (Zach Urness/Statesman-Journal via AP, File)
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration moved on Tuesday to conserve groves of old-growth trees on national forests across the U.S. as climate change amplifies the threats they face from wildfires, insects and disease.
Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack said the agency was adopting an "ecologically-driven" approach to older forests — an arena where logging interests have historically predominated. That will include the first nationwide amendment to U.S. Forest Service management plans in the agency's 118-year history, he said.
The proposal follows longstanding calls from environmentalists to preserve older forests that offer crucial wildlife habitat and other environmental benefits. The timber industry has fought against logging restrictions on government-owned lands.
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