Old growth forest plan withdrawn

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has announced that it will no longer be pursuing a nationwide plan to manage old growth forests.

Chief Randy Moore released a statement on Friday that he has made the decision to withdraw the notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

“Since this work started, we have learned much through this process. We have gained a wealth of information and perspectives, and we deeply appreciate the input we received from so many,” he stated.

“This process has helped us to identify the best available scientific information and given us the opportunity to engage with various individuals and groups to gain important insights that can help to guide our future stewardship of these special forests.”

The process so far has provided an opportunity to identify where conditions are not desirable for old growth or are vulnerable to foreseeable threats, he wrote.

“Understanding these differences will enable us to make intentional management decisions so that we can provide for ecological integrity and maintain, conserve, recruit and steward old growth forest conditions with ecologically appropriate representation, distribution and abundance, based on place-based assessments of what is most needed.”

The proposal has caused concern for the Crook County Commissioners since it was first announced in 2024. Almost a year ago, the commission called for USFS to rethink its plan to amend every forest land management plan in the nation to create one overall strategy for old-growth forests.

The letter noted that no counties or local governments had been invited to participate and that this county’s economic viability is highly dependent on federally managed lands for energy development, livestock grazing, wildlife, tourism and recreation. It also pointed out that a one-size-fits-all approach is inappropriate for forest planning and said decisions are better made closest to the forest level.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDS) originally published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on December 19, 2024 to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to amend all 128 national forest land management plans “to include consistent direction to manage, conserve and steward old-growth forest conditions.”

An initial threat assessment report prepared by USFS and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) states that wildfire exacerbated by climate change and fire exclusion is the leading threat to mature and old-growth forests, followed by insects and disease.

It found that two thirds of mature and just over half of old-growth forests are vulnerable to these threats.

Governor Mark Gordon reacted to the announcement last week, having also criticized the plan for not addressing state concerns.

“The Old Growth amendment was an unworkable attempt to amend a large number of Management Plans using a single Environmental Impact Statement developed on an unrealistic timeline,” he said in a statement.

“This top-down approach never properly took into account local public input and initially excluded counties and conservation districts as cooperating agencies.  I want to thank Wyoming’s counties and conservation districts for their willingness to partner with the state to ensure Wyoming’s voices were heard in this proposal, and I look forward to improved collaboration with the USDA and Forest Service with the incoming administration.”