OhNoAnyway - 80% Of Ohio's Only National Forest Now Classified As Eligible For Logging [View all]

In the Appalachian foothills outside Athens, Ohio, more than 20,000 acres of forest land was mined for coal in the early 20th century, destroying miles upon miles of pristine woodlands. By the 1930s, the federal government had to step in, taking it out of private hands and establishing the Wayne national forest in an attempt to prevent further degradation. In the decades since, maple, oak and other hardwood trees have taken over, returning to nature a region previously better known for extraction.

Home to important waterways, the eastern hellbender salamander – an amphibian proposed for listing as an endangered species – hundreds of miles of trails and a host of other outdoor recreational activities, the Wayne national forest draws a quarter million visitors every year. “People use the national forest for fishing, hunting, whether they’re trail runners or cyclists or ATV or horseback riders [and] for camping,” says Molly Jo Stanley of the Ohio Environmental Council who lives several miles from its borders.

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Unlike the huge forests and wilderness areas of the American west, federal forests where the public can forage and enjoy nature are relatively uncommon in the industrial Midwest. On top of that, the large-scale removal of trees could fuel major leaching of pollutants that have remained in the soil from the mining days but which, without live tree roots keeping it in place, could flow into waterways, poisoning drinking water for local communities. Tens of millions of people depend on drinking water that originates upstream in national forests, say observers. The Ohio River, which has a greater discharge rate than the Colombia and Yukon Rivers, is just miles from one unit of the Wayne national forest.

Other major threats resulting from clearcutting logging are increased fire risks and landslides, say experts. “Over and over, we’ve seen in Appalachia and across the country when you log areas, you potentially increase the danger of wildfires because you increase the roads that lead to 90% of wildfires [that occur] within a half-mile. Opening up big areas allows for more wind, leaves behind a lot of slash and tinder – logging companies only take the big trees,” says Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center of Biological Diversity, who has experienced firsthand the destruction of forests around Asheville, North Carolina, from last year’s devastating Hurricane Helene.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/05/ohio-wayne-national-forest-logging-trump-administration