FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE • January 9, 2023
A campaign is underway by federal and state wildlife agencies to clear established forests and expand early-successional habitats with the intention of benefitting specific species. Far less attention is given to protecting and recovering old-forest ecosystems, the dominant land cover in these regions before European settlement. The authors of this article conclude that in the face of urgent global crises in climate, biodiversity, and human health, public land forest and wildlife management programs must be reevaluated to balance the prioritization and funding of early-successional habitat with strong and lasting protection for old-growth and mature forests, and, going forward, must ensure far more robust, unbiased, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.