To: The Honorable John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
Cc:
The Honorable Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President & National Climate Advisor
The Honorable John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation
The Honorable Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture
The Honorable Deb Haaland, United States Secretary of the Interior
Re: Mature Forests Must be Protected as a Climate Solution
Date: November 3rd, 2022
Dear Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry,
We strongly support the Biden Administration’s commitments to the Paris agreement, and especially to the agreement’s emphasis on conserving forest carbon sinks. One of the most cost-effective and essential near-term climate solutions the United States can deploy to conserve and expand these sinks is to establish durable protections for mature forests and trees on federal lands from the threat of logging. President Biden clearly recognized this need when he announced Executive Order 14072 to protect mature and old-growth forests, both foreign and domestic. Now, as the U.S. delegation travels to Egypt to lead the world on climate action, it is time to ensure this potential is fully realized.
Conserving mature and old-growth forests and trees as a climate strategy represents a win-win opportunity. No human-made technology can match these forests for their ability to remove and store climate destroying carbon pollution from the atmosphere. Logging them rapidly releases much of that stored carbon whereas conserving them preserves that stored carbon and ongoing sequestration abilities. Conservation also provides a host of co-benefits. It helps buffer key ecosystems from continued biodiversity loss, it will protect critical drinking watersheds for communities across the country, and it will allow for continued quality outdoor recreation experiences for all Americans.
If the United States wants to be a credible leader on global forest conservation and deliver on its commitments to halt forest destruction made last year in Glasgow, Scotland, we need to take urgent action to protect the most climate-critical forests at home. This means a durable, bright-line rule on future administrations that protects mature and old-growth forests and trees on federal lands from logging.
With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the influx of federal funds towards new and innovative climate action, it is essential that we invest in natural climate solutions alongside technological ones. The IRA included billions of dollars for forest management, on top of the billions allocated by last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. A regulation protecting mature forests and trees from logging is necessary to safeguard these essential natural resources and reduce the potential for conflict and controversy as this funding is implemented.
Thank you for your continued climate leadership and emphasis on using nature to combat the climate and biodiversity crises.
Sincerely,
| 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations 350 Eugene 350 Humboldt 350 PDX 350 Sacramento 350 Salem, Oregon 350 Seattle 350 Washington County 350 Wenatchee Alaska Wilderness League American River Natural History Association Applegate Siskiyou Alliance Azul Battle Creek Alliance & Defiance Canyon Raptor Rescue Biofuelwatch Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project California Environmental Voters California Wilderness Coalition Californians for Western Wilderness Climate Writers Coalition To Protect America's National Parks Coast Range Association Colorado Native Plant Society Conservation Northwest Creation Justice Ministries Deer Creek Valley Natural Resources Conservation Association Earth Ethics, Inc. Earth Law Center Earthjustice Emergency Conservation Committee - PNW Endangered Species Coalition Environment America Environmental Action Environmental Law & Policy Center Environmental Protection Information Center Evergreen Action Extinction Rebellion Portland Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE) Forest Keeper Forest Unlimited Forest Web Foundation Earth Friends of Big Ivy I Heart Pisgah Inland Ocean Coalition Interfaith EarthKeepers Interfaith Power & Light John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute Keep the Woods Kentucky Heartwood Kettle Range Conservation Group Kitsap Environmental Coalition Klamath Forest Alliance KS Wild League of Conservation Voters Lorax Coalition Los Padres ForestWatch Mason County Climate Justice Massachusetts Forest Watch Metro Climate Action Team National Parks Conservation Association Natural Resources Council of Maine Natural Resources Law New Jersey Forest Watch New Jersey Highlands Coalition New Mexico Wildlife Federation Northcoast Environmental Center Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance Standing Trees Sunrise Movement PDX Sustainable Rogue Valley The Forest Advocate The Ocean Project Thurston Climate Action Team Transformative Wealth Management, LLC Treekeepers of Washington County (Oregon) Umpqua Natural Leadership Science Hub Umpqua Watersheds United Plant Savers Water League | Cascadia Climate Action Now Cascadia Wildlands CedarAction Center for Biological Diversity Center for Responsible Forestry Central Oregon LandWatch Chattooga Conservancy Citizens for a Clean Black Lake Climate Action California Climate Law & Policy Project Climate Reality Baltimore Area Chapter Climate Reality California Coalition Climate Reality Project Bellingham Chapter Climate Reality Project King County, WA Chapter Climate Reality Project Orange County, CA Chapter Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley Chapter Climate Reality San Diego Chapter Friends of Miller Peninsula State Park Friends of the Bitterroot Friends of the Clearwater Gallatin Wildlife Association Great Old Broads for Wilderness, National Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Bozeman Broadband Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Cascade-Volcanoes Chapter Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Central Oregon Bitterbrush Broads Chapter Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Greater Wasatch Broadband Great Old Broads for Wilderness, North Olympic Peninsula Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Northern San Juan Chapter Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Polly Dyer Seattle Broads Great Old Broads for Wilderness, South San Juan Chapter Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Willamette Valley Broadband Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Yavapai-Prescott Broadband Green Snohomish Healthy Ocean Coalition High Country Conservation Advocates Highlands Nature Sanctuary, dba Arc of Appalachia NRDC Ohio Environmental Council Old-Growth Forest Network Olympic Climate Action Olympic Forest Coalition Olympic Park Advocates Oregon Wild Our Revolution Michigan Partnership for Policy Integrity Peoples Voice on Climate Presbyterians for Earth Care Prince George's Sierra Club Progressive Democrats of America - Oregon Chapter Quiet Use Coalition Rachel Carson Council RESTORE: The North Woods Rocky Mountain Wild SAFE Alternatives for our Forest Environment San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council Santa Fe Forest Coalition Sierra Club Soda Mountain Wilderness Council South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership Southern Environmental Law Center Southern Oregon Climate Action Now Waterway Advocates Whatcom Million Trees Project Wild Heritage Wild Orca Wild Watershed WildEarth Guardians Wilderness Workshop Wildlands Network Williams Community Forest Project Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Yellowstone to Uintas Connection |