3 minute read
PERSPECTIVE
can make our forests healthier, less flammable, and more resilient.
2. Protect our remaining old-growth
forests. Before industrial logging, about half of forests in the Eastern U.S. were in old-growth condition; now, less than one percent of old-growth forests remain in the Southeast, and nearly all of those forests are on public lands. Federal lands protect the most important reservoirs of ancient forests and biodiversity. The Forest Service continues to log these rare forests rather than protecting and restoring them. It’s time for a clear and consistent policy that identifies and protects existing old growth in national forests and allows more forests with old-growth characteristics to mature.
3. Right-size the road system. The Forest Service currently maintains more than 370,000 miles of roads— that’s nearly eight times larger than the entire U.S. interstate system. The maintenance backlog on this road infrastructure is nearly $3.5 billion. Chief Moore should set a measurable annual target for reducing the Forest Service’s maintenance backlog, whether from additional funding, relocating problem roads, or closing unneeded roads.
Right-sizing the road system can ultimately provide more and better public access. By closing unneeded, unused roads and building ones that provide improved access, the Forest Service can avoid billions in maintenance, enhance water quality by preventing erosion, and avoid the road closures that come with neglect.
4. Promote accountability. Prodded by timber targets, local officials sometimes choose harmful and controversial work, such as logging old growth rather than restoring native diversity. An emphasis on short-term commercial logging has cost taxpayers billions and worsened wildfires and the climate crisis. Timber sales can no longer serve as the Forest Service’s primary metric. Carbon storage, water quality, and community participation need to be equally valued by the Forest Service. The Forest Service can fix this by changing how it measures success.
Removing public and scientific input from Forest Service decision making has damaged trust. The Forest Service must recommit to listening to stakeholders, partners, and local communities. Chief Moore should also take steps to bring in new and diverse community voices, steps that could make the country’s forests more welcoming for Thompson and other visitors of color.
Chief Moore can reorient the Forest Service to live up to its motto of managing forests for “the greatest good, for the greatest number, in the long run.” “There is a real mismatch between what the public expects and what the Forest Service has been doing,” says Sam Evans, leader of Southern Environmental Law Center’s National Forests and Parks Program. “Chief Moore can lead the agency toward a broader suite of goals that enhance the ecological integrity and longterm health of the forests. He also can bring in new voices that have historically been underrepresented. This is a moment of crisis for the Forest Service—and also a moment of opportunity.”
The agency should scrap its timber targets and instead track progress on carbon storage, water quality, and community protection.
5. Restore respect for public
knowledge and input. Public input is the best backstop to make sure that local decisions are accomplishing good things for the forest. Unfortunately, Trump-era rollbacks have eliminated public comment and scientific review from many of its logging, mining, and pipeline projects. Logging projects up to 2,800 acres no longer require environmental analysis and public input. The Trump rules have essentially cut the public out of public lands.
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