Ground Truth Blog
Musk Firings Undermine Wildland Firefighting
The extralegal firing of Forest Service employees by Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” will undermine the agency’s firefighting capabilities. Musk’s pseudo-agency claimed that firefighters were exempt from the purge, but as reported by Kylie Mohr in...
Prescribed Fire Promotes Buffalo Clover Recovery
Buffalo clover (Trifolium reflexum) is listed as endangered by the State of Indiana, but this rare plant was discovered on the Hoosier National Forest following a prescribed burn. This patch of buffalo clover lives in an open canopy of dry oak forest adjacent to a...
What can we Learn About Wildfire From Australia?
Five years ago, the Black Summer Bushfires burned more than 60 million acres in Australia. Between June 2019 and May 2020, hundreds of fires burned, mainly in southeastern Australia. Like the recent fires in Los Angeles, Australian bushfires are driven by high winds....
Good Samaritan Mining Law Finally Passes
by Jonathan P. Thompson In December 2024, President Joe Biden signed the Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act into law, opening the door for “good samaritans” to clean up some of the more than 500,000 abandoned mining-related sites across the U.S. without...
Report Reveals ‘Catastrophic’ Decline in Wildlife Numbers
Released in October 2024, the World Wildlife Federation’s (WWF’s) latest Living Planet Report cites a “catastrophic 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations” from 1970 to 2020.” The Zoological Society of London maintains the Living Planet...
EXPLORE Act Enjoys Broad Support
On Jan. 6, President Biden signed into law the “Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act” (H.R. 6492). With bipartisan sponsorship, the new legislation passed the House by voice vote in April. In December, the bill passed the Senate by unanimous...
Northwest Forest Plan Amendment
The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), adopted in 1994 during Bill Clinton’s administration, covers 24.5 million acres in Washington, Oregon, and northern California. The NWFP was created in response to logging practices that decimated old-growth forests, created expansive...
Biden Administration Drops Plan to Protect Old Growth
Citing pushback from Republicans and the timber industry, the Biden administration has pulled its proposed old-growth forest plan. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore announced the decision in a Jan. 7 letter to forest supervisors. As previously reported, the Forest...
Time to Jump Ship
Transferring the U.S. Forest Service to the Department of the Interior When the Titanic was taking on water, the survivors didn’t hesitate to abandon ship. Staying aboard a sinking vessel wasn’t an act of loyalty; it was a death sentence. The Forest Service, steaming...
Four More Years of President Trump
Donald Trump’s return to the White House is unprecedented. He’s the first convicted felon to be elected to the presidency after a New York jury found him guilty of 34 charges stemming from a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election. Manhattan Judge Juan M....
Lockheed Martin Employs Goats to Reduce Fire Risk
Lockheed Martin’s Waterton Canyon campus sits on 98 acres of rugged foothills near Denver. In August 2024, a 500-acre wildfire came within a mile of the aerospace facility, serving as a wake-up call for corporate decision-makers. Professional staff members were tasked...
Bridger-Teton National Forest
The Bridger-Teton National Forest encompasses a significant portion of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest intact ecosystem in the contiguous United States. The Forest is home to scenic views and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, black bears,...