WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) released the following statement after the Biden administration announced it is withdrawing the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed Old Growth Amendment.

This amendment would have forced a unilateral approach to managing old growth forests without carefully considering unique local factors in places like Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest. This approach fails to address the major threats to our nation’s old growth forests, including wildfires.

“President Biden’s Old Growth Amendment Plan was flawed from the very beginning and I’m glad the administration finally withdrew it,” said Barrasso. “One-size-fits-all regulatory schemes won’t help Wyoming’s old-growth forests. I look forward to working with the incoming Trump administration and local leaders on the ground in Wyoming to actually keep our forests healthy.”

Background Information:

In April 2022, the Biden administration directed the U.S. Forest Service to define, identify, and assess the risks to “old-growth and mature” forests absent a Congressional mandate or existing authority to do so.

In December 2023, the U.S. Forest Service released a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement that would amend all 128 forest plans in less than one year, in direct conflict with its own processes that require tailored approaches at the forest level.

In March 2024, Barrasso introduced legislation to block the Old Growth Amendment and ensure state and local land managers play an active role in protecting America’s old growth forests.

In May 2024, Barrasso sent a letter to U.S Forest Service (U.S.F.S.) Chief Randy Moore emphasizing concerns regarding the U.S.F.S.’s old growth amendment proposal. U.S.F.S is drafting the proposal without state and local input.

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