The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are seeking public comment of the development of a definition framework for mature forests on federal lands.
These efforts will further the Biden administration's executive order on strengthening the nation's forests, communities and local economies, according to a July 14 news release.
"The Forest Service looks forward to playing a role in convening the public, private and government land managers, the natural resources science community and people and organizations across a broad spectrum with a focused interest on this important issue," Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said in the news release. "Old-growth and mature forests are a key component to healthy ecosystems. Synthesizing old-growth forest information on a national scale is a critical first step to informing further science questions and future management actions."
The president's executive order, issued in April, directs leaders from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior to "define, identify and complete" an inventory of the nation's old growth and mature forests on public lands. According to the release, the executive order gives the department secretaries a year to carry out the inventory and to publish the results "accounting for regional and ecological variations, as appropriate."
"Old-growth and mature forests are critical to ensuring resilience in our forests in the face of climate change, and they play a key role in storing carbon," Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in the news release. "We look forward to hearing from the public on how best to define and inventory them."
