Ground Truth Blog
“Mud Boggers” Damage Fragile Meadow
What’s some people’s idea of a good time? Taking that four-wheel drive and tearing through a wild meadow! The latest incident of illegal “mud bogging” on national forests has done extensive damage to a wet meadow in Idaho. Boise National Forest officials believe the...
Can Cities Be Saved from Wildfires?
On June 20, 2010, someone (authorities never found the culprit) left a campfire unattended in the forested mountains just north of Flagstaff, Arizona. The day was sunny and warm, with a stiff afternoon wind blowing in from the southwest—perfect conditions for a...
Groups Sue Forest Service Over Tongass Logging Plan
Conservationists are challenging a proposed old-growth timber sale on Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, saying it would harm wildlife, curtail tourism and cost taxpayers millions. The project calls for logging more than 500 acres of old-growth forest on North Kuiu...
Survey Says: Montanans Want More Wilderness
A new survey shows that voters in Montana increasingly favor protecting public lands and are largely opposed to efforts by their congressional representatives to rescind protections for wild stretches in the state. The survey of 500 registered voters, commissioned by...
Feds to Remove Mountain Goats from Olympic Peninsula
Non-native mountain goats in Washington state’s Olympic National Park may soon get one-way tickets across Puget Sound to the Cascade Mountains. The National Park Service, in coordination with the Forest Service and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife,...
Conservationists Challenge Ohio Pipeline
A trio of conservation groups is challenging a proposal to build a natural gas pipeline across Ohio’s Wayne National Forest. Yesterday, the Ohio Environmental Council, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biodiversity filed a motion to intervene in the permitting...
It’s Called “Lying by Omission”
On Tuesday, Vicki Christiansen made her first Hill appearance as Forest Service chief, albeit with an “interim” asterisk. Her written testimony focused on fire funding and “active forest management,” aka, logging: The funding and related work will support between...
Quota System Considered for Oregon Wilderness Areas
Five congressionally designated wilderness areas in Oregon’s central Cascades could be subject to a permitting system and visitor limitations under a draft plan released by the Forest Service last week. The environmental assessment, called the Central Cascades...
Trouble for Trees in Cities
America’s urban forests are on the decline. Forest Service researchers found that tree cover in cities and towns dropped by about 175,000 acres per year between 2009 and 2014. That corresponds to a loss of about 36 million trees annually. Over the same period, the...
Hubbard is Trump’s Pick to Oversee Forest Service
A former Colorado state forester with an extensive background in wildland firefighting is Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the Forest Service as Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment. James Hubbard served as Colorado’s top forester from 1984 to 2004. He...
A Win for Warblers
Here’s an Endangered Species Act success story. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it intends to remove the Kirtland’s warbler from the threatened and endangered species list. The small songbird was one of the first species to be protected under...
Tree-sitters Oppose Appalachian Pipeline
Opponents of a $3.5 billion natural gas pipeline have taken to the trees in an effort to stop the controversial project, which would transect the Appalachian Mountains. Since late February, protesters have stationed themselves in trees in the Jefferson National Forest...