“The Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests represent some of the most vital landscapes to support thriving populations of hundreds of rare wildlife species in the Southern Appalachians. At the very least, a forest plan should identify the known habitats in which these species live and develop the appropriate management actions. Instead, the plan falls short and outright dismisses the need to protect thousands of acres of high-priority areas for rare species.”
- Ben Prater, Southeast Program Director
Today, the U.S. Forest Service officially published the Final Forest Plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, moving forward with a plan that recklessly opens critical areas of these two forests to logging and roadbuilding.
The Forest Plan guides the long-term future of the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, which are among the most visited and beloved public lands in the country. The plan outlines where activities like logging are prioritized, as well as areas that will be managed to allow for recreation or to protect rare species and clean water. The Forest Service released a proposed Final Forest Plan in January of 2022, heard objections from stakeholders – including SELC, MountainTrue, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, and Defenders of Wildlife – over the last year, and has now finalized the plan
Despite receiving more than 14,000 objections to the final Forest Plan, the Forest Service failed to make needed corrections. The plan dramatically expands the amount of logging in these forests and fails to protect more than 100,000 acres of old-growth forests, habitat for rare species, and roadless backcountry. The plan also ignores the role of these forests – and their ability to store massive amounts of carbon – in the fight against climate change.
The limited remaining old-growth areas in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests are particularly vital to fighting climate change and preserving biodiversity. In the draft plan, the Forest Service suggested that it might spare individual stands of old growth in the future. In the final plan, however, the agency backed away from even this small gesture. The Forest Service now says it won’t even consider whether forests qualify as old growth before logging them. This is a violation of current Forest Service guidelines, and it blatantly defies Biden administration directives to conserve old-growth forests.
U.S. Forest Service fails to fix glaring flaws in Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan
- Ben Prater, Southeast Program Director
Today, the U.S. Forest Service officially published the Final Forest Plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, moving forward with a plan that recklessly opens critical areas of these two forests to logging and roadbuilding.
The Forest Plan guides the long-term future of the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, which are among the most visited and beloved public lands in the country. The plan outlines where activities like logging are prioritized, as well as areas that will be managed to allow for recreation or to protect rare species and clean water. The Forest Service released a proposed Final Forest Plan in January of 2022, heard objections from stakeholders – including SELC, MountainTrue, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, and Defenders of Wildlife – over the last year, and has now finalized the plan
Despite receiving more than 14,000 objections to the final Forest Plan, the Forest Service failed to make needed corrections. The plan dramatically expands the amount of logging in these forests and fails to protect more than 100,000 acres of old-growth forests, habitat for rare species, and roadless backcountry. The plan also ignores the role of these forests – and their ability to store massive amounts of carbon – in the fight against climate change.
The limited remaining old-growth areas in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests are particularly vital to fighting climate change and preserving biodiversity. In the draft plan, the Forest Service suggested that it might spare individual stands of old growth in the future. In the final plan, however, the agency backed away from even this small gesture. The Forest Service now says it won’t even consider whether forests qualify as old growth before logging them. This is a violation of current Forest Service guidelines, and it blatantly defies Biden administration directives to conserve old-growth forests.
U.S. Forest Service fails to fix glaring flaws in Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan