Ground Truth Blog
Forrest Trump
You’ve probably already seen yesterday’s tweet from President Trump regarding FEMA funding for victims of California’s wildfires. But just in case, here is the original transcript: “Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest fires that, with...
Oregon Martens May Be Protected from Trapping
A rare subspecies of marten may be spared from trapping in Oregon’s coastal forests, after the state’s Fish and Wildlife Service reached a court settlement with conservationists last week. Fewer than 200 Humboldt marten are believed to remain on the Oregon coast, due...
Objections Filed to Alaska Logging Plans
Conservation groups have filed extensive objections to a plan to log thousands of acres of the Tongass National Forest over a 15-year period. An 85-page objection letter prepared by Earthjustice on behalf of nine conservation organizations describes the plan for...
West Virginia Hydro Project Draws Criticism
A proposed $1.2 billion hydroelectric facility in the mountains of West Virginia is years from generating electricity, even if the company proposing it secures the necessary permits. But it is already generating criticism from conservationists, local residents and...
Trump Signs Executive Order for More Logging
Late last week, shortly before a partial government shutdown took effect, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to ramp up logging on public lands. “For decades, dense trees and undergrowth have...
Job Satisfaction Drops Among Forest Service Employees
The Forest Service is among the least popular agencies to work for in the federal government, according to an annual survey of public employees. Just under 53 percent of Forest Service employees are satisfied with their jobs, according to the 2018 “Best Places to Work...
Zinke Shown the Door
He rode in on a horse named Tonto. He leaves with something less of a flourish. Ryan Zinke’s tenure as Secretary of Interior lasted less than two years. He leaves behind a legacy of slashed national monuments, freewheeling fracking and a slew of scandals that promise...
A Farm Bill Win
Sometimes a little bit of arm-twisting can yield big results. Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a version of the 2018 Farm Bill that would have opened wide swaths of national forests to clearcutting with little or no environmental review....
Fishers Released in North Cascades
With a little help, fishers are returning to the Pacific Northwest. Last week, six of the carnivorous, cat-sized weasels were released in the North Cascades of Washington state, where they are listed as an endangered species. The animals, including five females and...
Legislation Considered to Allow Pipeline in Appalachian Mountains
Backers of a 600-mile natural gas pipeline are attempting a legislative end run around a court ruling last summer that prohibited the pipeline from crossing beneath the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. In August, a three-judge panel invalidated two permits for the...
Space Project To Measure Planet’s Forests
The world’s forests are about to get a close-up. Tomorrow, a laser-shooting instrument is scheduled to blast into space for a rendezvous with the International Space Station, with the goal of taking precise measurements of the height, mass and structure of forests...
Court Strikes Down Four Tongass Logging Projects
Conservationists yesterday scored a major victory for preserving old growth in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, as a federal appeals court ruled that the Forest Service must scrap plans for four logging projects. The ruling comes after a 10-year legal battle staged...