The Biden administration is dropping an effort to conserve old-growth areas of national forests, bowing to the reality that the incoming Trump administration was likely to kill the initiative.
In a memo to Forest Service supervisors late Tuesday, agency Chief Randy Moore said information gleaned from the work will still be valuable as forest managers shape practices across the 193-million-acre national forest system.
“This process has helped us to identify a wealth of best available scientific information and engage with many to gain important insights that can help to guide our future stewardship of these special forests,” Moore said.
From its start more than two years ago, the administration’s old-growth plan has faced a mix of praise, criticism and questions.
