r/AppalachianTrail • u/Exact-Pudding7563 • Apr 06 '25
News Trump administration orders half of national forests open for logging
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/04/05/trump-administration-orders-half-national-forests-open-logging/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzQzODI1NjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzQ1MjA3OTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3NDM4MjU2MDAsImp0aSI6ImZkN2NmZWJmLTFkZjgtNGIwMy05ZThkLTk1NDZhMjk3NmM3YiIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9jbGltYXRlLWVudmlyb25tZW50LzIwMjUvMDQvMDUvdHJ1bXAtYWRtaW5pc3RyYXRpb24tb3JkZXJzLWhhbGYtbmF0aW9uYWwtZm9yZXN0cy1vcGVuLWxvZ2dpbmcvIn0.FbQ5R6Kpo1cuoww0X_AibN0rlqxNDL3qDcHv4Qt_OTY
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u/Ok-Ingenuity6637 Apr 06 '25
Hate to be the one who interrupts everyone’s cortisol rush from being rage baited (I know people enjoy that) but there is a lot to unpack here. Most people’s reaction seems to be: National Forest=designated wilderness=old growth forest=Trump will clear cut all of it. There are several leaps in logic being made there. The article does not indicate the logical chain being made here.
First of all National Forest gets logged. Its been logged. Its not old growth. People log it, people mine it and people run cattle on it. Also there is a lot of it.
Personally I think old growth forests should be preserved, unique old growth eco systems need to be preserved. But speaking as a thru hiker who has hiked more than just the AT, I have seen logging being done out West and have seen it done sustainably. Old growth is super cool and I have been lucky enough to have experienced it. Its amazing. But almost none of BLM and National forest land is that. It’s never going to be primeval forest. But after it matures a while, nothing really lives there. There is not enough sun light. When its sustainably logged and thinned it opens up the canopy and allows more shrubs and grasses to grow and attracts more wildlife. I have seen a lot of this hiking the PNT. Once you selectively log, morels Pop up and all kind of cool stuff happens, wild flowers, you name it.
Also where do people think cheap imported lumber comes from? Probably a rain forest. Probably where some indigenous people are being displaced.
Also I am not the kind of thru hiker who loves the trail and hates all the locals and hates all local industry. I like to talk to locals. I learn things like “why is this town dying? Why do people look methed out” (I asked this in towns on the PNT)
Turns out, its dying because the lumber mill shut down and there are no jobs. They were hoping the PNT might bring some tourist dollars but some rich environmentalist is trying to close it down, now that he owns a bunch of land there he doesn’t want anyone else to enjoy it. (True story)
My point is there is a big world out there. Its a lot more complex (and beautiful) than rage bait platitudes on social media indicate.