Preserving mature and old growth forests across the US is a critical piece of the puzzle in fighting climate change, and on Earth Day of this year, President Biden issued an executive order to "strengthen America's forests, boost wildfire resilience, and combat global deforestation".
Great news, right? Not so fast. To learn more about the good, the bad, and the ugly of Federal forest and climate policy, I spoke with Oregon Wild’s Forest Climate Policy Coordinator, Lauren Anderson. Lauren joined Oregon Wild in 2020 after several years in Washington, D.C. working on energy, climate and wildlife policy issues.
Among other roles, Lauren helps coordinate the Climate Forests Campaign, a coalition of environmental organizations across the country, working to protect mature and old-growth forests.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Let me know what you thought, send suggestions, or just say hey at michael@coastrange.org.
Show Notes:
Climate Forests: https://www.climate-forests.org/
Worth More Standing Report: https://www.climate-forests.org/_filesx/ugd/73639b_03bdeb627485485392ac3aaf6569f609.pdf
White House fact sheet on President Biden's Executive Order on Forests: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/22/fact-sheet-president-biden-signs-executive-order-to-strengthen-americas-forests-boost-wildfire-resilience-and-combat-global-deforestation/
Good overview of the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act: https://earthjustice.org/brief/2022/what-the-inflation-reduction-act-means-for-climate