You’re invited to take part in the National Day of Forest-Climate Action on Tuesday, May 28 (the day after Memorial Day)! To sign up, email eia [at] eco-integrityalliance [dot] org!
When you think of an “emergency” in the natural world, what comes to mind? Climate emergency? Biodiversity emergency? Extinction emergency?
Ignoring all that, the U.S. Forest Service has instead declared a LOGGING “EMERGENCY,” putting almost 1 million acres of biodiverse public forests on the chopping block over the last year alone, detonating a virtual “carbon bomb” (estimated 90 tons of CO2 released per acre) while undercutting President Biden’s commitment to protect old growth National Forests.
As of March 2024, 894,898 acres across California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Washington are slated to be logged (including clearcutting and targeting mature and old growth trees) under an anti-science, taxpayer-subsidized scheme that falsely claims the best way to protect communities from wildfire is to cut down forests, with a goal of 45 million acres (!) over the coming decades.
Instead, the scientific consensus is that hardening homes—Firewise measures such as installing non-flammable roofs and maintaining defensible space 15-60 feet around structures—can save the vast majority from even the most intense wildfires.
Much of this forest destruction is being fast-tracked under a controversial “emergency action” authorization invoked by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (and former corporate Big Ag lobbyist) Tom Vilsack, as laid out under Section 40807 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This so-called “emergency” logging bypasses alternatives required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) while skirting the objection period of the predecisional administrative review process, a legal challenge historically used by environmental advocates to pause or stop destructive projects like these.
What’s more, western forests are at extreme risk from a resurgence of the air- and carbon-polluting “biomass” industry threatening to push us over the climate and biodiversity tipping point.
Of course, a massive and growing body of studies show that not only won’t logging protect communities from the natural and essential process of wildfire, tree-cutting can make flames burn hotter and spread faster by opening forests to sunlight and wind.
Indeed, the whole premise of logging to create “historical conditions” of parklike forests due to so-called “overgrown” stands and “unusual” high-severity wildfire has been repeatedly debunked, with numerous peer-reviewed studies proving that western forests prior to fire suppression have always grown densely and routinely experienced mixed- and high-severity wildfire.
But science alone won’t save the forest. It’s up to us to convince the Forest Service—and the politicians funneling tens of billions of taxpayer dollars into this disaster—to focus on hardening homes, not flattening forests.
Which is why we’re inviting YOU to take part in the National Day of Forest-Climate Action on Tuesday, May 28 (the day after Memorial Day)!
Actions are already planned in California (Lost Sierra Forest-Climate Action Camp), Colorado (hike in roadless area threatened by “emergency” logging), Ohio (Heartwood Forest Council), and Oregon (billboard naming politicians wasting tax dollars on logging), and many more will be scheduled and listed at Eco-integrityalliance.org.
If your local area isn’t already covered, we urge you to plan your own LEGAL, NON-VIOLENT action, be it a protest, hike through threatened forest, wildlife survey, email/call in/lobbying day for a local politician, or anything else that sends the message that protecting forests is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect the climate.
Soon as you’ve got an action planned, be sure to email us at eia [at] eco-integrityalliance [dot] org so we can list you on the website and help you spread the word!
For the Forest,
Eco-Integrity Alliance
Eco-Integrity Alliance 