Ground Truth
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...
A Few Trails in Columbia River Gorge Reopen
The Forest Service has reopened a six-mile stretch of road and several hiking trails in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Oregon, a year after the Eagle Creek Fire burned 50,000 acres. However, several popular trails, including in a designated...
Bill Removing Protections for Wolves Passes House
On a largely party-line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed legislation that would remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves, with the exception of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest. Republican Rep. Sean Duffy of Wisconsin...
House Democrats Pledge Vigilance on Environmental Issues
Vows from Democrats in the House of Representatives to provide robust oversight of Trump administration policies will extend to environmental issues, key lawmakers said after their party took back control of the chamber on Tuesday. In a press conference yesterday,...
Old-Growth Logging Proposed for Tongass
Forest Service officials today released a draft decision that calls for carrying out large-scale old-growth logging on Alaska’s Tongass National Forest over the next 15 years. As much as 235 million board feet of timber could be cut on Prince of Wales Island....
Utah Seeks Roadless Rule Exemption
Utah is joining Alaska in seeking a state-specific exemption from the Trump administration to the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. With the backing of the state’s Republican governor, Gary Herbert, Utah officials plan to submit a petition to the Department of...
Feds Shelve Oil and Gas Leases—For Now
Faced with criticism from top Colorado officials, the Trump administration last week backed away from plans to open nearly 150,000 acres of public land in the state to oil and gas drilling. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Sen. Michael Bennet, both Democrats, had...
Facts on Fire
Do facts matter at all? Last week, during a cabinet meeting, President Trump lambasted California officials for leaving the state’s forest “a mess.” He said that “California ought to get its act together and clean up their forests.” He accused them of leaving “old...
FSEEE Featured in Magazine Article on “Backpack Tax”
Faced with a growing backlog of maintenance projects on public lands, support may be growing for a “backpack tax” as a way to generate funds for cash-strapped public agencies. The idea is to place excise taxes on gear such as climbing equipment, outdoor wear, and,...
Visitation Limits Announced for Hanging Lake
One of the primary attractions on the most visited national forest in the country will be subjected to a quota system beginning next spring, Forest Service officials announced earlier this month. Hanging Lake, turquoise-tinted and fed by waterfalls, is accessed by a...
Christiansen Named Forest Service Chief
The word “interim” can be removed from her title. Vicki Christiansen, who has served as interim chief of the Forest Service since March, was sworn in as the agency’s permanent chief during a ceremony this morning in Washington, D.C. Christiansen, who served as state...
Whither Roadless in Alaska?
They are wilderness areas without a capital “W.” They are “inventoried roadless areas,” governed by a rule adopted in the waning days of the Clinton administration designed to preserve the last remaining stretches of national forests that roads had not yet pierced....
Bitterroot National Forest Officials to Consider Allowing Bicycles in Wilderness Study Areas
Forest Service officials in Montana have opened a 45-day objection period regarding a proposal to close about 63 miles of trails in the Bitterroot National Forest to mountain bikes. The trails are located in two wilderness study areas—places being considered for...
Plan Would Limit Target Shooting in Colorado
A draft decision released yesterday would prohibit recreational target shooting on 225,574 acres on the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests in Colorado. The report follows a five-year process in which Forest Service officials worked with representatives from...
Judge: Forest Service Must Reconsider Elk-Feeding Program
Forest Service officials in Wyoming must reexamine their decision to let state wildlife officials feed elk on the Bridger-Teton National Forest in the wintertime, according to a federal judge’s ruling. U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal ruled on Friday that...
Trump Administration Continues Efforts to Expand Drilling and Mining on Public Lands
Bureau of Land Management officials this week auctioned off 134,000 acres in Utah for potential oil and gas drilling, including tracts near Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, as the Trump administration continued its efforts to expand...
Operation Goat Lift Begins
An operation to remove non-native mountain goats from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state gets under way today. More than 700 goats live in the Olympic Mountains, descended from a handful released there by hunters nearly a century ago. Their numbers are...
Feds Clear Way for Mineral Exploration Near Boundary Waters
The Trump administration today rejected a proposed 20-year ban on mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, clearing the way for mineral exploration on the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. The decision allows mining companies...