Ground Truth Blog
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,...
USC Analysis: Retardant is Laden With Toxic Metals
On Oct. 30, 2024, just as the previous issue of Forest News was going to print, researchers at the University of Southern California’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering published a report titled “Metals in Wildfire Suppressants.” The report provides...
Forest Service Continues Allowing Old-Growth Logging
The Forest Service continues to approve old-growth logging projects in spite of the Biden administration’s executive orders promoting old growth protections. One of the more egregious examples is the Black Ram Project, a plan to cut 95,000 acres in the Yaak River...
Logging Threatens Fens on White River NF
The Lakeview Project on the White River National Forest in Colorado proposes to employ “commercial thinning” in the 6,661-acre project area, much of which is characterized by wetlands, including irreplaceable fens. According to the Notice of Proposed Action (NOPA)...
Protecting Water Resources From Wildfire
Protecting water resources is a common justification for conducting wildfire mitigation projects on our national forests. The concern is valid, as forestland provides “the cleanest and most stable water supply compared to other lands,” according to a 2022 Forest...
Idaho’s Parachuting Beavers Build Forest Resilience
In 1948, Idaho Fish and Game began parachuting “nuisance” beavers into the backcountry in spring-loaded boxes that opened upon landing. The “nuisance” began in the wake of WWII as prosperity returned to the nation and more reliable automobiles allowed people to...
Forest Service Authorizes Heavy Equipment in Wilderness
“Forest Service leaders in the Pacific Northwest have authorized the use of heavy equipment and fire retardant to suppress wildfires in Roadless and Wilderness Areas,” reads a press release from the Forest Service. “When we approve the use of heavy equipment and...