Short Communication
DellaSala DA
Ripple WJ
Birdsey RA
RamÃrez CE
Noon BR
Masino SA
Recieved on: 2023-02-08, Accepted on: 2023-03-11, Published on: 2023-04-18
Mature and old-growth forests and trees (MOG) have declined globally from decades of unsustainable logging. MOG provide unique biodiversity and ecosystem benefits essential in slowing biodiversity loss and mitigating climate impacts worldwide. In the U.S., what remains of these forests is largely on federal lands where MOG logging continues despite a presidential order to inventory MOG for conservation purposes. We argue for stepped-up MOG protections by building on the exemplary Tongass National Forest in Alaska where roadless area protections containing MOG, previously removed under the Trump administration, were recently reinstated by the Biden administration while also supporting an economic transition out of old - growth logging and into previously logged but reforested sites. Nationwide MOG protections would establish U.S. leadership on the Paris Climate Agreement (natural sinks and reservoirs) and the Glasgow Forest Pledge to end deforestation and forest degradation. It would demonstrate progress toward 30 x 30 and present a global model for effective forest and climate response.