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Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump increasing timber production in U.S. How has logging affected Louisiana ecosystems?
On March 1, President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the immediate expansion of American timber production. Within the executive order, it's said that increased production of timber, lumber, paper, bioenergy and other wood products is critical to the well-being of the U.S. "Our inability to fully exploit our domestic timber supply has impeded the creation of jobs and prosperity, contributed to wildfire disasters, degraded fish and wildlife habitats, increased the cost of construction and energy, and threatened our economic security," reads the executive order. While the executive order expresses the need to increase timber production and logging efforts for the good of the U.S., the lumber industry has contributed to a number of negative consequences within Louisiana's ecosystems. The logging industry in Louisiana has had significant impacts, both economically and environmentally. However, while the forest industry is a top contributor to Louisiana's economy, it has led to substantial tree-cover loss and other environmental consequences. The forest industry has contributed billions to the state's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and supports numerous jobs. Forestry and logging are also particularly important within rural areas in Louisiana, as the timber industry is a major employer and economic driver, according to LSU AgCenter. However, Louisiana's timber industry has led to deforestation, soil salinity and land loss, habitat loss and fragmentation, impacted water quality, larger populations of invasive species, as well as climate change, according to USDA Climate Hubs. Regarding deforestation due to logging, Louisiana has experienced significant tree-cover loss since 2000, including a substantial decrease in natural forest area. This has led to habitat loss and fragmentation, which impacts biodiversity and wildlife populations. Habitat and biodiversity disturbance from logging can then create opportunities for invasive species to take hold and further disrupt Louisiana's ecosystems. Deforestation also contributes to climate change by reducing carbon sinks and releasing stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to Global Forest Watch. Additionally, due to the timber industry, Louisiana has been experiencing soil salinity issues moving inland, which affects forests and can potentially lead to the loss of workable land. Logging can also lead to erosion, which can wash away nutrients and negatively impact water quality in streams and rivers, according to Sierra Forest Legacy. Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@ This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: How is logging and the timber industry affecting Louisiana ecosystems?
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
USDA ordered to scrub climate change from websites
Agriculture Department employees have been ordered to delete landing pages discussing climate change across agency websites and document climate change references for further review, according to an internal email obtained by POLITICO. The directive from USDA's office of communications, whose authenticity was validated by three people, could affect information across dozens of programs including climate-smart agriculture initiatives, USDA climate hubs and Forest Service information regarding wildfires, the frequency and severity of which scientists have linked to hotter, drier conditions fueled by climate change. And it is reminiscent of moves made during the first Trump administration to remove references to climate change from federal government websites. The email sent Thursday afternoon calls on website managers to 'Identify and archive or unpublish any landing pages focused on climate change' and 'Identify all web content related to climate change and document it in a spreadsheet' for the office to review. It set a Friday deadline for handing over titles, links and 'your recommendation on how the content should be handled.' The action comes as funds for clean energy and agriculture programs remain in limbo amid a federal spending review ordered by the Office of Management and Budget. The Trump administration has pushed to halt and reverse spending from the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provided billions of dollars for wildfire management, clean energy investments and credits to store carbon dioxide that benefit rural communities USDA serves. A spokesperson for USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the first Trump administration, officials buried government-funded research that showed the impacts of climate change on American farmers, including issues like volatile weather and increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In 2019, USDA also refused to release a multiagency plan to help farmers respond and adapt to a changing climate. As of Friday, some landing pages remained active, such as for USDA Climate Hubs, a cross-agency effort to address and adapt to climate change. Others already appeared mothballed, like a page on USDA's Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities. Extreme weather events just in the last few years have devastated the entire peach crop in Georgia, flooded farms in North Carolina and a disease called citrus greening — made worse by climate change — has led to sharp declines in Florida's famed citrus crop. Smoke from wildfires in the West have ruined fields of grapes, and drought has forced ranchers to shrink their cattle herds. The USDA instructions also come as California recovers from wildfires that could amount to the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, which scientists said climate change exacerbated. The U.S. Forest Service is the primary federal agency for preparing for and mitigating wildfires. Under former President Joe Biden's Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, USDA spent $3.1 billion on the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, working with private food companies, nonprofits and universities to research ways for farmers to reduce their carbon footprint, develop more resilient crops and restore land. But Trump's executive order targeting climate spending in the IRA forced officials at USDA to temporarily pause funding disbursements through the program. Under the IRA, Congress directed USDA to pay billions of dollars to farmers for conservation practices, including some that address climate change. But Trump's Day 1 executive order aims to halt agency payments for major climate, energy and infrastructure projects — and could jeopardize billions in payments as farmers prepare for planting season.
