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The Biden administration is abandoning efforts to issue a policy to protect old-growth forests, even though the president previously touted protecting these forests as an important component of his climate agenda.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Forest Service Chief Randy Moore announced that the agency had no plans to move forward with the proposed old-growth tree protections.
The Forest Service also released a Moore letter he wrote to regional officials. This letter cited “site-based differences that we will need to understand to conserve old-growth forests.”
At the beginning of the year, the administration proposed to restrict the felling of old trees. He said at the time that this intended for formally decide whether to finalize the proposal in January.
Studies have shown those old trees store large quantities of carbon dioxide, which makes its protection important in the fight against climate change.
In 2022, Biden issued an Earth Day executive order intended to protect the old forests.
“Our forests are the lungs of our planet. They are literally recycling and removing CO2 from the atmosphere. This is what they do,” he said during a speech at the time.
However, with the transition to a second Trump administration looming, even some environmental advocates say halting the effort may have been a smart move.
Alex Craven, a senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club, noted that a repeal of Congress could prevent future Democratic administrations from following a substantially similar rule in the future.
“I think the smartest course is — based on the way things have gone — … not to lose what’s been learned from this process, not to lose the fact that we have to formalize some protection , but don’t try to force it. this right now,” Craven said.
Biden’s proposal to protect forests had been rejected by Republicans and the timber industry.
In his letter, Moore said that over the past few years, “the learning and insights we’ve gained will help us better manage old-growth forests in the future.”
