Today, the Biden administration took further action to enact burdensome forestry regulations with a national old-growth amendment to all 128 forest plans across the nation that will make it more difficult to responsibly manage America’s forests. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) released the following statement in response:

"Time and time again, the Biden administration has failed to address the underlying threats to our federal forests, and instead has chosen to pursue regulations that lock up lands and restrict scientific forest management. Instead of using proven active management techniques to mitigate wildfire risk, curb diseases and give land managers critical tools for success, this action instead takes valuable practices off the table, leaving many of our forests even more vulnerable. I remain fully committed to enacting solutions that restore health and resiliency to forests of all ages. I hope the administration can work with us on these policies rather than continuing to pursue arbitrary and unscientific preservationist regulations that do nothing but harm."

Background

In a continuation of the Biden administration’s misguided Executive Order 14072 focused on old and mature forests, the United States Department of Agriculture announced its proposal to alter forest land management plans related to old-growth forests and grasslands across the country. This will restrict timber harvests on roughly 32 million acres of federal lands that have been identified as old growth. Creating additional restrictions on forest management during a historic wildfire crisis remains unwise and should be rejected.