The Biden administration’s plans to conserve old-growth forests could be a quick target for elimination after Donald Trump becomes president — if they ever go into effect.
The Agriculture Department is sitting on a draft environmental impact statement for its moves to wrap old-growth protection into the management plans for national forests across the country. Officials could sign off on a final plan at any time, and USDA has estimated it would do so in January.
But Trump’s victory and the potential for Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress has changed the calculation. Officials now face a question about whether to make the proposal final at all, knowing it’s likely to be abandoned by the incoming administration or undone by Congress.
“It’s going to be dumped,” said Jim Furnish, a former deputy chief at the Forest Service who supports additional protections for old-growth stands. “I feel fairly certain that a new Trump administration does not support the effort and work done to date.”
