In a groundbreaking move, the Biden administration is taking steps to protect groves of old-growth trees on federal land by revising management plans for national forests and grasslands across the United States. This proposal marks the first nationwide amendment to US Forest Service plans in its 118-year history, signaling a shift towards an “ecologically-driven” approach to managing older forests, an arena historically dominated by logging interests. Details of the plan were obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its public release on Tuesday.

The urgency to conserve old-growth forests stems from the escalating threats they face from wildfires, insects, and disease, amplified by the impacts of climate change. President Joseph Biden's administration aims to strike a middle ground by significantly limiting commercial timber harvests in old-growth forests while allowing logging to continue in "mature forests" that have not yet reached the old-growth stage. This approach seeks to balance the preservation of crucial wildlife habitat and environmental benefits offered by older forests while addressing the concerns of the timber industry.

Old-growth forests, such as the renowned giant sequoia stands in northern California, boast layers upon layers of undisturbed trees and vegetation. The preservation of these forests is widely recognized as essential due to their symbolic value as marvels of nature, as well as their ability to store large amounts of carbon in their trunks and branches, mitigating climate change. The devastating wildfires that have ravaged California in recent years have underscored the need to protect these towering giants concentrated in approximately 70 groves along the western side of the Sierra Nevada range.

Chris Wood, president of Trout Unlimited and former Forest Service policy chief, expressed support for the proposal, stating that it represents a significant step forward in protecting old growth. However, experts caution that determining what qualifies as old growth is not a straightforward task. Growth rates among different tree types vary widely, even within species, based on factors such as access to water, sunlight, and soil conditions. Additionally, the frequency of wildfires plays a role, with some forest types adapted to withstand blazes more frequently than others.

The government's first-ever national inventory of mature and old-growth forests on federal land, released earlier this year, revealed larger expanses of older trees than previously estimated by outside researchers. According to the inventory, the Forest Service and federal Bureau of Land Management jointly oversee more than 50,000 square miles (129,000 square kilometers) of old-growth forests and approximately 125,000 square miles (324,000 square kilometers) of mature forests. These forests are primarily located in Western states like Idaho, California, Montana, and Oregon, as well as in New England, around the Great Lakes, and in Southern states such as Arkansas, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

While environmentalists have long called for the preservation of older forests, representatives of the timber industry and some members of Congress remain skeptical about the Biden administration's ambitions to protect these forests. They argue that the focus should be on reducing wildfire dangers by thinning stands of trees that have become overgrown due to decades of fire suppression, which can fuel catastrophic fires.

The proposal to revise management plans for 128 national forests and national grasslands is expected to be completed by early 2025. However, its longevity is uncertain if President Biden loses his bid for re-election in 2024. During the previous administration, officials under former President Donald Trump sought to open up millions of acres of West Coast forests to potential logging. This decision was later reversed in 2021 by federal wildlife officials who determined that faulty science was used to justify shrinking areas of forest crucial for the threatened northern spotted owl.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack emphasized the importance of not stepping backward in terms of forest management, stating that it would be "a serious mistake for the country to take a step backwards now that we've taken significant steps forward." The durability of Tuesday's proposal remains to be seen, but it represents a significant shift towards prioritizing the conservation of old-growth forests and recognizing their ecological importance in the face of climate change.