FORESTS FOREVER

"While Project 2025 includes an overt enumeration of the antiparks agenda, a new CAP analysis finds an insidious movement to erase parks and privatize public lands has been bubbling below the surface."

The Agenda of the 118th Congress’ Antiparks Caucus A new CAP analysis identifies the latest congressional antiparks caucus and their wide targeted agenda to dismantle America’s most beloved public lands.

"But this doesn’t work for eco-anxiety because climate distress is inherently logical. It comes from a place of empathy for others and a world that they recognize is 'in really big trouble,' Davenport says."

insideclimatenews.org

"The records represent a milestone that climate scientists don’t expect to last long, as humans continue to fuel climate change by pumping fossil fuel pollution into the atmosphere."

Monday was the world's hottest day ever recorded — breaking Sunday's short-lived record Global temperature records have been broken twice in a row this week.

"Methane absorption levels were found to be the highest in tropical forests, probably thanks to the microbes’ ability to thrive in warm and wet conditions."

Tree bark plays vital role in removing methane from atmosphere, study finds Researchers uncover ‘remarkable new way in which trees provide a vital climate service’ by reducing emissions

"As trees photosynthesise, their leaves take up carbon dioxide (CO₂) and lock it away as biomass in their trunks and branches providing a long-term store of carbon. But now, our large-scale study proves that there’s another way that trees absorb greenhouse gases – so forests can provide even more climate benefits than previously thought."

We’ve discovered the world’s trees absorb methane – so forests are even more important in the climate fight than we thought A large-scale study proves that trees absorb methane through their bark, with climate benefits at a global scale.

"[O]ver 40 conservation groups, from small grassroots greens to large national organizations, have written Congress to oppose the bill. Wilderness is not about human convenience, they say, it’s about safeguarding the tiny pockets of wild landscape we’ve allowed to remain."

Mountains don't need hardware - Writers On The Range We humans want the most out of life, so why shouldn’t we push to get more of what we want?...

But still the DEIS contains many loopholes ("proactive stewardship," anyone?) that would allow commercial logging of old-growth. And mature forests—the slightly younger old-growth-of-tomorrow—remain virtually unaddressed.

Send in your comments in favor of a modified Alternative 3 in the proposed old-growth rule. The Sept. 20 deadline is approaching fast!

403 Forbidden

"The BLM unveiled its proposed conservation rule last year, citing the need to adapt federal land management strategies in recognition of mounting pressures from climate change, such as intense drought, wildfires and invasive plant species."

Wyoming and Utah sue feds to halt controversial 'conservation rule' - WyoFile Environmental groups hail the measure, which Gov. Gordon says is part of Biden's attempt to kill Wyoming's fossil fuel industries.

"Beavers are known as a 'keystone species,' meaning they create, modify, and maintain critical ecosystems for insects, birds, mammals, fish, plants, and trees. In fact, 50% of North America’s threatened or endangered species are highly dependent upon beavers for their survival."

Beavers are our partners in protecting and restoring California - Capitol Weekly OPINION – If you’re like us, you’re inspired by the natural world and eager to see California’s beautiful mountains, forests, and lakes protected for future generations. You also might be surprised to hear that the health and survival of these places depends on one species more than most: be...

"Beavers undoubtedly once populated the many streams and meadows, but by the time the monument was designated, they had been all but eradicated — the case all over Oregon." https://buff.ly/3WYRQff

The Beaver Seekers • The Revelator Citizen scientists are helping restore the ecosystem engineers to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon.

"On closer inspection, however, you can recognize it for what it truly is: the beating heart of one of the most genetically rich ecosystems on the planet."

Species Spotlight: The Coastal Sage Scrub Oak, an Unassuming Cornerstone of its Ecosystem • The Revelator Animals, plants, and fungi depend on this humble tree, but its future — and theirs — is all but certain.

"Paving the road would allow illegal loggers and land grabbers to more easily access remote and relatively untouched areas of the world's largest rainforest, environmental experts said. Deforestation is the largest source of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions that help to drive climate change."

Brazil judge blocks paving of highway through heart of Amazon rainforest A Brazilian judge on Thursday issued an injunction to stop the paving of a highway through the center of the Amazon rainforest, amid fears the roadway would boost deforestation and further drive climate change.

Safeguarding and expanding carbon-rich forests on Forest Service lands is the most cost-effective and one of the most important, timely approaches we can take to fight the climate crisis.

Write the U.S. Forest Service and tell it you expect to see this old-growth policy live up to the president's original intent.

Strengthen protections for older forests to curb climate chaos and species loss! We must strengthen the old-growth/mature forests rule

"Since 1990, Bioneers has acted as a fertile hub of social and scientific innovators with practical and visionary solutions for the world's most pressing environmental and social challenges."

Dave Foreman - The Re-Wilding of the World | Bioneers Dave Foreman is perhaps best known for co-founding Earth First!, but he also co-founded the Wildlands Project, the Rewilding Institute, and the New Mexico Wi...

"'The arrest is believed to be related to a former Red Notice issued for Captain Watson's previous anti-whaling interventions in the Antarctic region[.]'"

Anti-whaling activist arrested in Greenland, could be extradited to Japan Canadian-American activist Paul Watson was en route to the North Pacific on a mission to intercept a new Japanese whaling ship when police boarded his vessel.

"The main difference between a conservation lease and a drilling lease, for example, would be that the leaseholders would leave the land in a condition that was much better than they found it, to the benefit of the American taxpayer, not permanently scarred by abandoned mines, poorly capped drill sites and denuded landscapes."

Tribune Editorial: The BLM Public Lands Rule is a common-sense solution “Federal land should obviously be managed in a way that, whenever logical, recognizes, protects, even expands, that use.”

"During the final days of the Trump Administration, the U.S. Forest Service amended its guidelines known as Eastside Screens. The amendment removed the agency’s 21-inch standard that had protected large trees across 8 million acres of forestland since 1994."

Federal judge finalizes protections for large trees east of the Cascades A federal judge recently put protections back in place for large trees in Eastern Oregon after the Trump administration removed those guidelines in its final days.

"The WEST (Western Economic Security Today) Act, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last week, is the latest attempt by Western states to repeal the policy aimed at enhancing the conservation and ecological health of public lands, which critics say harms economic activities including ranching, mining, fossil fuel production and energy development."

Western States and Industry Groups Unite to Block BLM's Conservation Priority Land Rule - Inside Climate News The West Act is the latest effort to stymie the rule that would put conservation on equal footing with mining, oil and gas development, grazing and other uses.

"The rule will allow the BLM to consider 'mitigation restoration leasing' equally with other uses like grazing, mining and oil and gas development."

"The rule identifies conservation tools to keep natural landscapes intact and restore them where degraded, a move advocates say marks a shift from what the BLM has considered or ignored when setting frameworks for use of its 18.4 million acres in Wyoming."

BLM conservation rule likely to survive challenges, advocates say - WyoFile Conservation groups boost Biden administration initiative, saying the changes to management of 18 million acres in Wyoming are legal and will fulfill the agency’s duty.

"Douglas Carstens, Managing Partner of Carstens, Black & Minteer LLP, explains how CEQA ensures public participation and provides civil rights protections, especially for marginalized communities."

CEQA's Importance as A Bill of Rights for Environmental Democracy For over 50 years, CEQA has served as a "Bill of Rights for Environmental Democracy," safeguarding the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the places we ...

Conservationists have no argument with the need to cut an occasional old-growth tree if it's hanging over a building, campground or critical right-of-way. But this DEIS would preserve longstanding incentives for both the Forest Service and the timber industry to fell these precious trees for profit. Like never before, they are worth more standing.

Send in your comments in favor of a modified Alternative 3 in the proposed old-growth rule. The Sept. 20 deadline is approaching fast!

403 Forbidden

"The new research, from environmental and advocacy groups that track financing of climate-intensive industries, underscores a major blindspot in the banking industry’s efforts to cut emissions and eliminate climate risks from their portfolios and the broader banking system."

Financing of Meat and Dairy Giants Grows Thanks to Big American Banks and Investors - Inside Climate News New reports show that banks have contributed hundreds of billions of dollars in financing to large milk and dairy companies in the years since the Paris Agreement was signed.

"Still, wilderness preservation encompasses only 5 percent of America’s land mass, and just 2.7 percent if you exclude Alaska."

The Wilderness Act: A Triple Anniversary The latest cause – it is now 13 years old – is the Wild Olympics campaign. It would create 126,661 acres of’ new wilderness protection on Olympic National Forest land, which surrounds the nat…

"Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., will introduce a bill that would restore the previous standard under which federal agencies had some leeway to interpret the law when they issued regulations under statutes that are ambiguously written."

Democratic senators seek to reverse Supreme Court ruling that restricts federal agency power First to NBC News: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is introducing a bill that would effectively undo a court ruling that overturned the 40-year Chevron precedent.

"Stegner warned of negative consequences that would come to wildlife and the spirit of the land if the intention of land managers, recreationists and conservationists was focused primarily on serving human desires to use it."

Stegner’s “Wilderness Letter” Still Rings True - Yellowstonian In 1960, Wallace Stegner wrote about the enduring importance of wilderness in the modern world. He called wilderness “the geography of hope” and today it's more vital than ever for wildlife

"Now, the so-called Chevron doctrine has been swept aside by a 6-3 court split along ideological lines. Chief Justice John Roberts, who two years ago authored a major opinion limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, wrote the majority opinion, reining in the power of all federal agencies."

Supreme Court Overturns Chevron Doctrine: What it Means for Climate Change Policy - Inside Climate News The high court sweeps away a ‘Goliath’ of modern law, weakening agencies’ legal authority as courts weigh Biden’s policies to cut greenhouse gases.

"[S]tudies found that The Day After Tomorrow raised public awareness of the climate crisis. David Lipsky, author of The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial, says by phone from New York: 'At the time, it was seen as ridiculous and the kind of mistake Hollywood makes that actually turns the audience off of this as a serious issue. But in the 20 years since, people have begun saying that isn’t such a silly thing.'"

‘It affects everything’: why is Hollywood so scared to tackle the climate crisis? Twisters is the latest in a long line of movies that fail to address the environmental emergency – experts say it’s a missed opportunity

"Even when the current string of extremes ends at some point, Buontempo added, 'more records will be broken … This is inevitable, unless we stop adding [greenhouse gases] into the atmosphere and the oceans.'”

Average Global Temperature Has Warmed 1.5 Degrees Celsius Above Pre-industrial Levels for 12 Months in a Row - Inside Climate News New data shows the planet’s fever stayed above a crucial target for a full year, but it would need to do that for decades to breach the Paris Agreement limit.

"In June 2024, however, the cooperation agreement between the Brazilian government and the German breeding center that holds most of the world’s Spix’s macaws ended without renewal, casting the future of the project into doubt."

For ‘extinct’ Spix’s macaw, successful comeback is overshadowed by uncertainty This is the first in a two-part report about the reintroduction of the Spix’s macaw, a bird declared extinct in the wild, and the uncertain future of its return. Read Part Two here. RIO DE JANEIRO — On May 24 this year, Ugo Vercillo woke up to a piece of amazing news: two parrot fledglings, […...

"In her new book, Irwin, the daughter of late conservationist and The Crocodile Hunter personality Steve Irwin, is teaching an important lesson about preserving the planet and its creatures, per the book’s description."

Bindi Irwin To Publish Debut Kids Book About Conservation: ‘Thrilled To Share My Passion for Wildlife’ (Exclusive) Bindi Irwin will publish her debut children’s book in early 2025. 'You Are a Wildlife Warrior!: Saving Animals and the Planet' is forthcoming from Random House Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.