Ground Truth
Fire Funding Bill Cuts Environmental Reviews
Hailed as “Great news!” by Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) allocates about $5.5 billion in additional funding for the Forest Service. In a prepared statement, Moore said the new funding will support an increase in...
One Step Closer to Erasing Trump Rule
Greenwire reports that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) submitted a new rule for White House review, a step toward undoing a Trump administration rule redefining critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act. The new rule would cancel the Trump-era rule that...
State Park is First on Forest Service Land
Colorado’s 43rd state park is the first of its kind — it sits on Forest Service land. In 2021, the White River National Forest took ownership of the 488-acre Sweetwater Lake parcel adjacent to the Flat Tops Wilderness. The state park designation is the result of work...
Plan Falls Short on Wilderness Recommendation
Gallatin National Forest lies at the northwest corner of Yellowstone National Park. Along with Custer National Forest, it encompasses more than 3.3 million acres, including the Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf wilderness areas. The final Custer Gallatin Land...
Bill Would Require Forest Service to Suppress all Fires
Republican congressmen Tom McClintock and Doug LaMalfa introduced legislation “directing the Forest Service to immediately suppress wildfires on National Forest System lands and put an end to the policy of letting fires burn.” If passed, H.R. 6903 would require the...
Forest Service Adopts 10-year Wildfire Strategy
The next issue of Forest News is at the printer's. Here's a preview: The Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service have launched a “comprehensive response to the nation’s growing wildfire crisis.” The 10-year strategic plan outlines “the need to significantly...
Supreme Court reinstates Trump-era water rule
Reporting for the Associated Press, Jessica Gresko writes that the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated a Trump-era Clean Water Act rule today. The rule "curtails the power of states and Native American tribes to block pipelines and other energy projects that can pollute...
Following FSEEE Lawsuit, Forest Service to Reopen Parts of Willamette National Forest
Zach Urness with the Salem Statesman Journal reports that the Forest Service plans to reopen "some of the 170,000 acres" that were closed following Oregon wildfires that burned in 2020. The article indicates the Forest Service is "implementing a new plan for removing...
With Your Help, We’ve Stopped an Illegal Logging Plan
After FSEEE won a preliminary injunction to halt the Willamette National Forest Danger Tree Reduction Project, the U.S. Forest Service has decided to withdraw the project. We're sending out a big "Thank you!" to all of you who made donations to help us win this round....
Conservancy, Investors Collaborate on Forest Management
The Nature Conservancy has partnered with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group through an initiative to sustainably manage forests in 11 U.S. states from the South to the Pacific Northwest. The initiative will address “the twin crises of biodiversity loss and...
Jordan Cove Gas Project Dies; FSEEE Helped Kill It
As reported by E&E News, "The developer of an Oregon liquefied natural gas export terminal told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ... it would not move forward with the embattled ... Jordan Cove project." The project would have carried natural gas from...
FSEEE Comments on What Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Means for Wildfire Management
Noting that President Biden's infrastructure bill allocates $3.3 billion for things like firefighter raises, prescribed fire and defending communities against wildfire, Kylie Mohr contacted FSEEE Executive Director Andy Stahl for an article in High Country News. Mohr...
Study: Severe Wildfire More Common Prior to 1900
A peer-reviewed study published in September finds that severe wildfires were less common during the past three decades than they were prior to the 20th century. William Baker, professor emeritus at the University of Wyoming, authored the study, and his analysis...
Four Forest Restoration Initiative Halted
The Forest Service has halted the largest restoration effort of its kind, the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), an effort to thin forests on 2.4 million acres of land in northern Arizona to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. FSEEE has consistently...
FSEEE Wins Injunction Against Post-fire Logging in Oregon
A federal judge agreed with FSEEE, blocking most of a Willamette National Forest commercial logging project that would affect habitat for the northern spotted owl, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In the Nov. 5 order granting the...
New USFS Chief Randy Moore
In July, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack named Randy Moore the new Forest Service chief. In announcing the appointment, Vilsack said, “Randy Moore has been a catalyst for change and creativity in carrying out the Forest Service’s mission to sustain the health,...
30×30 Update
The Biden administration’s commitment to the “30x30” goal of conserving 30% of the planet’s lands and waters by 2030 remains enigmatic, in part because the administration has changed the playing field. The original concept of conserving 30% of natural spaces addressed...
FSEEE Files Lawsuit to Stop Post-fire Logging in Oregon
As reported by the Statesman Journal, FSEEE has filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service over a commercial logging plan to harvest at least 15,000 acres of so-called “hazard trees” along 404 miles of roads in Willamette National Forest in Oregon. The project would...
FSEEE Reiterates Concerns About Aerial Fire Retardant
Autumn Spanne with Environmental Health News recently spoke with FSEEE Executive Director Andy Stahl about the increasing use of fire retardant in the western U.S. Spanne's article cites a significant increase in aerial wildfire retardant use — 90 million gallons...
Toxic Algae and Fire Retardant
Authorities are looking at toxic algae as a likely cause in the mysterious deaths of a family and their dog while hiking in the Sierra National Forest. The family was reported missing when they failed to return home, and their bodies were discovered the next day. The...
FSEEE Weighs in on Wildfire Policy Debate
A Los Angeles Times article by Anita Chabria and Alex Wigglesworth cites FSEEE Executive Director Andy Stahl in the debate about the U.S. Forest Service “let it burn” wildfire policy. Andy told the Times that, “despite the devastating outcomes, the problem isn’t the...