Meg Bishop, Forests and Wildlife Stewards
Old-growth forests store vast amounts of carbon, support many species of wildlife, and play a critical role in water and air purification—yet, almost most importantly, mature forests and the soils beneath them act as powerful carbon sinks, helping to mitigate climate change.
The National Old Growth Amendment proposed by the US Forest Service (USFS), following a two year public involvement process where over 1 million comments were submitted, aimed to set critical new protection for old-growth forests on federal land.
Due to the current administration, in January 2025, the USFS announced it would withdraw its National Old-Growth Amendment environmental impact statement with no record of decision, halting the initiative. The proposal faced major opposition from the timber industry and Republican lawmakers. If the USFS had finalized the Amendment with a ROD (Record of Decision) it would have opened this important initiative to congressional review and probable attack. If Congress had taken a vote opposed to this new management, no future administration could try to enact anything similar—a process known as the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
The CRA, created in 1996, allows Congress to overturn recently established federal regulations with a simple majority vote and prevents agencies from issuing similar rules in the future. In recent years, the CRA has been used to reject conservation measures that would limit logging and land development. By overturning protections put in place by previous administrations, lawmakers have pushed for increased timber harvesting on federal lands, prioritizing short-term economic gain over long-term environmental sustainability.
The Biden administration had tried to reverse certain previous rollbacks, directing agencies to assess and protect critical environments. Future protections remain uncertain without legislative action to prevent the misuse of the CRA against environmental policies.
In June 2024, the Forest Service released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed amendment, inviting public comment for a 90-day period. Groups such as the Climate Forests Campaign, a coalition of over 120 organizations, had urged the USFS to strengthen the proposed National Old Growth Amendment to provide further protections for old-growth forests.
Public awareness and advocacy are essential in protecting old-growth forests. Policymakers need to be pushed to stand for plans that prevent political reversals of environmental regulations. In the fight to protect forests, it is crucial to hold lawmakers accountable and advocate for sustainable land management that values conservation.
Find your legislator by looking up the district of your address. Send a message urging them to protect old-growth forest ecosystems that help mitigate climate change impacts.