May 25, 2018 — What’s some people’s idea of a good time? Taking that four-wheel drive and tearing through a wild meadow! The latest incident of illegal “mud bogging” on national forests has done extensive damage to a … More
Ground Truth
Can Cities Be Saved from Wildfires?
May 22, 2018 — On June 20, 2010, someone (authorities never found the culprit) left a campfire unattended in the forested mountains just north of Flagstaff, Arizona. The day was sunny and warm, with a stiff afternoon wind … More
Groups Sue Forest Service Over Tongass Logging Plan
May 16, 2018 — Conservationists are challenging a proposed old-growth timber sale on Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, saying it would harm wildlife, curtail tourism and cost taxpayers millions. The project calls for logging more than 500 acres of … More
Survey Says: Montanans Want More Wilderness
May 11, 2018 — A new survey shows that voters in Montana increasingly favor protecting public lands and are largely opposed to efforts by their congressional representatives to rescind protections for wild stretches in the state. The survey … More
Feds to Remove Mountain Goats from Olympic Peninsula
May 4, 2018 — Non-native mountain goats in Washington state’s Olympic National Park may soon get one-way tickets across Puget Sound to the Cascade Mountains. The National Park Service, in coordination with the Forest Service and the Washington … More
Conservationists Challenge Ohio Pipeline
May 1, 2018 — A trio of conservation groups is challenging a proposal to build a natural gas pipeline across Ohio’s Wayne National Forest. Yesterday, the Ohio Environmental Council, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biodiversity filed … More
It’s Called “Lying by Omission”
April 26, 2018 — On Tuesday, Vicki Christiansen made her first Hill appearance as Forest Service chief, albeit with an “interim” asterisk. Her written testimony focused on fire funding and “active forest management,” aka, logging: The funding and … More
Quota System Considered for Oregon Wilderness Areas
April 24, 2018 — Five congressionally designated wilderness areas in Oregon’s central Cascades could be subject to a permitting system and visitor limitations under a draft plan released by the Forest Service last week. The environmental assessment, called … More
Trouble for Trees in Cities
April 19, 2018 — America’s urban forests are on the decline. Forest Service researchers found that tree cover in cities and towns dropped by about 175,000 acres per year between 2009 and 2014. That corresponds to a loss … More
Hubbard is Trump’s Pick to Oversee Forest Service
April 16, 2018 — A former Colorado state forester with an extensive background in wildland firefighting is Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the Forest Service as Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment. James Hubbard served as Colorado’s top … More