The goal of the ban is to protect old trees, which are better at storing carbon, though the results of the plan depend on the 2024 election results.

In mid-December, the Joe Biden administration announced a new proposal aimed at banning logging in old-growth forests to protect millions of trees that play a crucial role in the fight against the climate crisis. The proposal follows an executive order signed by the President on Earth Day in 2022, which directed the US Forest Service (US Forest Service) and the Bureau of Land Management to conduct an inventory of old and mature forest stands and develop policies for their protection.

“We believe this will allow us to effectively and strategically respond to the threats facing old-growth stands,” US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told the Washington Post. “Ultimately, this will protect not only the forests but also the culture and heritage associated with them.”

The US Forest Service oversees 193 million acres of forests and grasslands, 144 million acres of which are forests. In the inventory conducted following President Biden's order, the agency found that the majority – approximately 80% – of the forests under its management are either old-growth or mature forests. It was found that there are more than 32 million hectares of old-growth forests and 80 million hectares of mature forests on federal land.

The Bureau of Land Management defines old-growth forests as forests in a later stage of forest development, which typically means at least 120 years of growth. For example, giant sequoias in California are old-growth trees. Mature forests, on the other hand, contain trees that are at a developmental stage just before being considered an old-growth stand.

Various activists have for years been urging the Biden administration to unequivocally ban logging in old-growth and mature forests. Trees that are considered old-growth are capable of storing more carbon than younger trees, making them a natural solution for combating the climate crisis.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/19/biden-forest-logging-ban-old-trees