Today, Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (AR-04) issued statements in opposition to the Biden Administration’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed National Old-Growth Amendment.
“The action taken today by the Forest Service is the next step towards limiting timber harvesting at the expense of common-sense forest management,” said Chairman Newhouse. “Let’s be clear, this war on timber harvesting is to the detriment of communities across rural America and will increase the risk of out-of-control forest fires by limiting proper forest management tools. As Chairman of the Western Caucus, I will continue to work to ensure that our forest managers have the necessary tools at their disposal and use all available means to prevent this proposed amendment from becoming a reality.”
“Today's announcement proposing to restrict responsible timber harvesting in so-called old-growth forests is another example of this administration rejecting science and prioritizing an out-of-touch environmentalist agenda,” said Chairman Westerman. “While the Biden administration has failed to define an old-growth forest, all forests would be protected if the Forest Service focused on its mission of managing the lands it controls. Instead, they’ve taken a partisan, unscientific direction, wasting precious time and resources. As its overgrown forests turn to tinderboxes, the Forest Service should be focused on active forest management to mitigate wildfire risk, curb diseases, and give land managers critical tools for success. Unfortunately, the USFS’ misguided action will further restrict badly needed forest management efforts, taking a vital tool out of the hands of the land managers who need them most.”
Background:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated a scoping period for a proposed amendment to all 128 plans across the National Forest System in December 2023.
The comment period for this scoping period closed on February 2, 2024; the Forest Service evaluated comments from the scoping and drafted an environmental impact statement (EIS) highlighting a preferred alternative.
The draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on June 21, 2024, with an accompanying 90-day public comment period.
A final EIS and record of decision for the amendment to all 128 National Forest system plans is expected at the end of 2024/beginning of 2025.
