Executive order launches process for protecting mature and old-growth forests on public lands 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – On Friday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that directs federal agencies to conduct an inventory of mature and old-growth forests on America’s federal lands so that policies can be adopted to protect them. The administration framed the move as a key strategy to store carbon and address climate change. 

"This is great news,” said Joseph Vaile, Climate Director for the conservation group KS Wild in southern Oregon. “ It is past time to recognize that forests, especially old forests and trees, are central to climate change policy.”

While the executive order does not outright protect old forest and trees, it sets up a process to inventory these forests and directs land managers in the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to develop policies to protect these forests in the era of climate change.

“As the Forest Service and BLM develop specific policies, they should ensure that strong, lasting protections for these climate champions are in place,” said Vaile. “Public forest managers have a critical responsibility to recover these carbon-rich forests for the climate, water quality, and recreation benefits they afford to local communities."

For more information on old-growth forests in southern Oregon and northern California, please visit https://www.kswild.org/oldgrowth

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