On Tuesday, the USDA Forest Service (USFS) announced the withdrawal of the notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the National Old Growth Amendment, which was first released in draft form in June 2024. USFS officials indicated that a final EIS would not be published, signaling an end to efforts on the new policy.
The USFS first published its NOI on the Amendment in December 2023. The proposal was met with skepticism from local representatives nationwide, including RCRC, particularly because it lacked proper, legal opportunities for local governments to seek cooperating agency status in the long-term plan for old growth amendments to forest plans nationwide. USFS launched a resulting outreach effort to gather input from county governments and local representatives in the subsequent months, in which RCRC also participated, leading up to Tuesday’s withdrawal of the amendment process.
The USFS continues to work on the mature and old growth initiative through efforts to map the 128 national old growth forests on a finer scale. Visit the USFS website to keep up with their work on old growth forests.