Latest Forests News
Biden administration withdraws old-growth forest plan after getting pushback from industry and GOP
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday abruptly dropped its nascent plan to protect old-growth forests after getting pushback from Republicans and the timber industry. The move was announced by U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore in a letter to forest...
2 Oregon men die from exposure in a forest after they went out to look for Sasquatch
STEVENSON, Wash. (AP) — Two Oregon men were found dead in a Washington state forest after they failed to return from a trip to look for Sasquatch, authorities said Saturday. The 59-year-old and 37-year-old appear to have died from exposure, the Skamania County Sheriff's Office said...
Drought, fires and deforestation battered Amazon rainforest in 2024
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that’s a critical counterweight to climate change. A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since...
Find out where your firewood comes from to prevent the spread of invasive pests
Crackling fires have long been a gathering place where idyllic chestnuts are roasted, stories shared and souls warmed, whether around a hearth or at a campsite. Some folks cut their own wood and let it season, but most buy their wood without much thought about where it came from. As...
Global demand spurring Indonesia's mining boom comes at a cost for many communities
KABAENA, Indonesia (AP) — The crystal blue waters that once surrounded Kabaena are murky brown now, and the octopi and colorful fish that locals used to catch nearby to eat and sell have fled. The lush seaweed they used to harvest is gone. And parents who grew up swimming happily in the Flores...
26 people arrested in crackdown on illegal deforestation along Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina border
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Paraguayan authorities arrested 26 people in a crackdown on suspected illegal deforestation along the country's border with Brazil and Argentina, Interpol announced Monday. Fourteen different agencies collaborated in the mid-October sweep, which relied on...
'Tis the season for roasting chestnuts. But in the US, native ones are almost gone
It's been a very long time since vendors sold the American chestnut on city sidewalks. It's no longer the variety whose smell some people associate with Christmastime as it wafts from street carts. Because it's virtually extinct. But memories of the American chestnut's legacy keep...
Environmental groups condemn new laws threatening soybean restrictions in Brazil's Amazon
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Dozens of environmental nonprofits issued a manifesto Thursday condemning new laws in Brazilian states that threaten to dismantle the Amazon soy moratorium — a landmark voluntary agreement banning trade in soybeans from recently deforested areas. The...
Brazilian beef and leather companies fall short in tackling deforestation, a study finds
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The next United Nations climate conference, COP30, will be held in Belem, the capital of an Amazon region where widespread deforestation mainly driven by cattle farming has turned the surrounding rainforest from a vital carbon sink into a significant carbon source. ...
Chinese gold mining threatens a protected UN heritage site in Congo
OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE, Congo (AP) — Scattered along the banks of the Ituri River, buildings cram together, cranes transport dirt and debris scatters the soil. The patches of trees are a scant reminder that a forest once grew there. Nestled in eastern Congo's Ituri province, the...
