Ground Truth Blog
One Step Closer to Erasing Trump Rule
Greenwire reports that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) submitted a new rule for White House review, a step toward undoing a Trump administration rule redefining critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act. The new rule would cancel the Trump-era rule that...
State Park is First on Forest Service Land
Colorado’s 43rd state park is the first of its kind — it sits on Forest Service land. In 2021, the White River National Forest took ownership of the 488-acre Sweetwater Lake parcel adjacent to the Flat Tops Wilderness. The state park designation is the result of work...
Plan Falls Short on Wilderness Recommendation
Gallatin National Forest lies at the northwest corner of Yellowstone National Park. Along with Custer National Forest, it encompasses more than 3.3 million acres, including the Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf wilderness areas. The final Custer Gallatin Land...
Bill Would Require Forest Service to Suppress all Fires
Republican congressmen Tom McClintock and Doug LaMalfa introduced legislation “directing the Forest Service to immediately suppress wildfires on National Forest System lands and put an end to the policy of letting fires burn.” If passed, H.R. 6903 would require the...
Forest Service Adopts 10-year Wildfire Strategy
The next issue of Forest News is at the printer's. Here's a preview: The Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service have launched a “comprehensive response to the nation’s growing wildfire crisis.” The 10-year strategic plan outlines “the need to significantly...
Supreme Court reinstates Trump-era water rule
Reporting for the Associated Press, Jessica Gresko writes that the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated a Trump-era Clean Water Act rule today. The rule "curtails the power of states and Native American tribes to block pipelines and other energy projects that can pollute...
Following FSEEE Lawsuit, Forest Service to Reopen Parts of Willamette National Forest
Zach Urness with the Salem Statesman Journal reports that the Forest Service plans to reopen "some of the 170,000 acres" that were closed following Oregon wildfires that burned in 2020. The article indicates the Forest Service is "implementing a new plan for removing...
With Your Help, We’ve Stopped an Illegal Logging Plan
After FSEEE won a preliminary injunction to halt the Willamette National Forest Danger Tree Reduction Project, the U.S. Forest Service has decided to withdraw the project. We're sending out a big "Thank you!" to all of you who made donations to help us win this round....
Conservancy, Investors Collaborate on Forest Management
The Nature Conservancy has partnered with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group through an initiative to sustainably manage forests in 11 U.S. states from the South to the Pacific Northwest. The initiative will address “the twin crises of biodiversity loss and...
Jordan Cove Gas Project Dies; FSEEE Helped Kill It
As reported by E&E News, "The developer of an Oregon liquefied natural gas export terminal told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ... it would not move forward with the embattled ... Jordan Cove project." The project would have carried natural gas from...
FSEEE Comments on What Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Means for Wildfire Management
Noting that President Biden's infrastructure bill allocates $3.3 billion for things like firefighter raises, prescribed fire and defending communities against wildfire, Kylie Mohr contacted FSEEE Executive Director Andy Stahl for an article in High Country News. Mohr...
Study: Severe Wildfire More Common Prior to 1900
A peer-reviewed study published in September finds that severe wildfires were less common during the past three decades than they were prior to the 20th century. William Baker, professor emeritus at the University of Wyoming, authored the study, and his analysis...