2024 Media Mentions

January 2024 – December 2024

What Biden can do for America’s forests before he leaves office

Dr. Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage, joined The Landscape podcast twice last year to talk about the Biden administration’s plans to protect mature and old growth forests. He recently wrote an op-ed for the Seattle Times in which he says the Forest Service’s is still planning to allow logging in mature and old growth forests. In this podcast, he talks about why that’s the case, how the Old Growth Amendment process plays into this, and what the Biden administration can do about it, then discusses recent headlines about wildlife connectivity in forests and carbon sink failure.

National forest falls short on conservation targets

September 23, 2024

Wild Heritage’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Dominick DellaSala, emphasizes the importance of protecting intact ecosystems to combat climate change in this oped. Read about his recent study that reveals that the Santa Fe National Forest is falling short in its conservation efforts. The forest has protected only 12% of its area, which is below the recommended targets to safeguard 30% by 2030 and 50% by 2050. This underperformance threatens the region’s ability to build climate resilience. DellaSala highlights the need for preserving old forests and wilderness areas as sanctuaries for both nature and people in a rapidly changing climate. By enhancing conservation efforts, the Santa Fe National Forest can better protect its ecological and cultural resources against the impacts of climate change.

‘We can feel our ancestors’: one First Nation’s fight to save Canada’s old forests forests (The Guardian)

As logging intensifies forest fires, Wet’suwet’en fight to protect old growth (Mongabay)

September 23, 2024

These two articles highlight how the Wet’suwet’en Nation in British Columbia is actively working to conserve the pristine old-growth watershed known as Caas Tl’aat Kwah within its traditional territory. Despite never having signed treaties with the Canadian or provincial governments, the Wet’suwet’en have successfully obtained a logging deferral for this area and are planning for its permanent protection.

This effort is set against a backdrop of widespread industrial logging that has left only 20% of British Columbia’s old-growth forests intact. In 2020, the province identified one-quarter of the remaining old growth as being at high risk for logging and promised to pause cutting while deciding on land use. However, four years later, less than half of these areas have been deferred, leaving the possibility that the province could eventually permit logging.

Scientists, including conservation biologist Dominick DellaSala, have highlighted the role of industrial logging in increasing fire intensity by drying out the land and disrupting ecosystems. Conserving intact forests like Caas Tl’aat Kwah is crucial for preventing worsening fires, as these forests help retain moisture and support biodiversity, thus reducing fire severity.

For the Wet’suwet’en, the land is not only ecologically significant but also a source of cultural heritage and healing. Community leaders, such as David DeWit and Charlotte Euverman, emphasize the importance of protecting these lands for future generations. They advocate for using traditional governance methods to ensure the area’s conservation, which involves community consensus and cultural rituals.

Despite legal and political challenges, including a lack of veto power over developments on their land, the Wet’suwet’en continue to push for the protection of Caas Tl’aat Kwah. The ongoing threat of logging underscores the need for robust conservation measures in the face of shifting provincial policies and priorities.

Sustainable logging operations are clear-cutting Canada’s climate-fighting forests

September 7, 2024

The Reuters investigation exposes significant issues with the certification of Canadian timber operations as “sustainable” by nonprofit organizations. Dominick DellaSala, criticized the certification process, questioning why logging, even certified logging, is allowed in primary forests over 100 years old, and expressed alarm over the certification seals being placed on such practices.

• Certification vs. Reality: Despite certifications from organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Canadian timber firms are harvesting significant areas of old-growth forests, which are vital for carbon sequestration and mitigating global warming.
• Extent of Forest Loss: From 2016 to 2020, about 30% of the certified boreal forests harvested in Ontario were over 100 years old, leading to the destruction of 377 square miles of these critical forests.
• Industry Influence on Certification: The investigation highlights how logging companies can choose their certifiers, which has led to a dilution of standards and increased influence of industry over certification bodies, driven by financial dependencies on certification fees.
• Environmental and Ethical Concerns: The rapid loss of old-growth forests in provinces like British Columbia underscores the inadequacy of current certification standards, with environmentalists arguing that these practices contribute to biodiversity loss and undermine true sustainability.
• Economic and Political Dynamics: The timber industry and provincial governments benefit economically from logging activities, complicating efforts to halt old-growth logging despite public pressure and environmental concerns.

Case Studies and Criticism: Examples include companies like Resolute Forest Products resisting stricter certifications by legal means and shifting to more lenient certifiers, as well as Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries retaining FSC certification despite significant forest destruction for oil sands development.

• Call for Reform: Critics, including DellaSala and other environmental advocates, call for more stringent and transparent certification processes to ensure genuine sustainable forestry practices.

Overall, the investigation reveals a significant gap between the certification of sustainable forestry and the ecological reality, driven by industry influence and insufficient regulatory frameworks, with DellaSala highlighting the ethical and environmental implications.

An old growth proponent talks about the federal EIS on a national old growth rule

July 2, 2024

Listen to Wild Heritage’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Dominick DellaSala, talk about the pitfalls of the USDA Forest Service’s recently published draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for a national old growth amendment that would guide preservation and creation of old growth in national forests across the country.

More than 200 leading scientists call for President Biden to issue an executive order halting logging in all mature and old-growth forests on public lands. The letter was signed by leading scientists from the National Academy, Nobel prize winners, climate change scientists, IPCC scientists, and heads of university departments.

• Old-Growth Forests Know How to Protect Themselves from Fire (Scientific American, March 19, 2024)
• Forest and climate scientists fear Biden delay on mature forest protection (Mongabay, March 5, 2024)
• Protecting Mature and Old Growth Forests (KBOO interview, March 4, 2024)
• Oregon scientists join letter calling for immediate moratorium on federal old growth logging (Jefferson Exchange interview, February 14, 2024)Key points Wild Heritage’