1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

The president's executive order to expand logging across 280 million acres of public lands is deeply concerning. Increasing timber harvesting on national forests and circumventing the Endangered Species Act will have devastating impacts on wildlife, water quality, recreation areas, and climate change mitigation efforts. This order prioritizes short-term profits for the logging industry over the long-term health of our nation's precious natural resources. Clearcutting and aggressive logging, especially in old-growth forests, increases wildfire risk, pollutes waterways that millions depend on, and drives vulnerable species like grizzly bears and spotted owls closer to extinction by destroying their habitats. Our national forests provide invaluable ecosystem services by sequestering carbon, regulating water cycles, and supporting biodiversity. They are also cherished recreation destinations for hikers, campers, and nature enthusiasts. Aggressive commercial logging compromises all of these vital functions for the sake of unsustainable timber extraction. I urge you to take immediate action to block this destructive executive order and uphold robust protections for federal public lands and the plants and animals that inhabit them. The American people expect our nationally owned forests to be carefully managed as a public trust for current and future generations, not exploited for private profit at the expense of irreplaceable natural treasures. Responsible, science-based forestry practices that preserve intact ecosystems must be the guiding principle.