More than 60 percent of Massachusetts is covered by forests. If kept intact, these forests will continue to provide climate, habitat, cultural, recreational, and economic benefits. If they are cut, these values will be diminished or lost. None of state’s public conservation lands have guaranteed protection from logging.

RESTORE: The North Woods has been in the forefront of efforts to give Massachusetts state lands the same level of protection as our National Parks. We co-authored three bills which were considered by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2024.

• H.4150, “An Act relative to forest protection,” would permanently protect 412,000 acres of land administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

• H.904, “An Act relative to increased protection of wildlife management areas,” would permanently protect 30% of the land administered by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) — about 51,000 acres — by 2030.

• H.894, “An Act relative to forest management and practices guidelines,” would establish an independent Advisory Council of scientists and experts to oversee an evaluation of Massachusetts publicly owned forest lands on an ongoing basis every five years, with robust public participation and goals.

Unfortunately, the bills did not pass. We will seek the reintroduction of the bills in the next legislative session in 2025.

Despite this disappointing outcome, the public surge of support for forest protection prompted Governor Maura Healey and her administration to launch in 2023 their “Forests as Climate Solutions” initiative, “to ensure that Massachusetts’ forests are conserved and managed to optimize carbon sequestration and storage, and mitigate climate harms, as part of meeting the state’s aggressive climate goals.”

This included the appointment by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) of the Climate Forestry Committee (CFC), which issued a report that raised numerous critical issues. RESTORE summarized the key findings and conclusions of the committee.

RESTORE and the organization, Standing Trees, submitted comments on the CFC report that highlighted its most important findings and conclusions, and urged the state to take action to implement them. You can read our comments here.

In its formal response to the CFC report, the EEA acknowledged the validity of many points raised by the committee and proposed some positive actions to address them. RESTORE’S summary of the key sections of the response is available here.

The EEA’s response was a step in the right direction toward improved protection for forests. But it fell far short of what is needed. As RESTORE’s Michael Kellett noted in this article, it is more important than ever to pass Massachusetts forest protection legislation.

DEBUNKING FIRE MYTHS

One of the biggest threats to forests in Massachusetts, New England, and across the eastern U.S. is the widespread use of “thinning” (i.e., logging), “prescribed” burning, and other “active” (i.e., intensive) “management” of forests, supposedly to “restore” forest health. In fact, there is no credible scientific basis for this practice. It is not only ineffective but it also fragments and degree natural ecosystems. Here is an excellent letter from three scientists that opposes the use of this misguided practice on Massachusetts public lands. You can watch an in-depth presentation by Dr. Chad Hanson at the 32nd Annual Heartwood Forest Council in Indiana here.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To learn more about these important issues and keep up to date on Massachusetts forest protection legislation, as well as to find out what you can do to help, visit our Save Mass Forests web page.

To keep informed about this important issue, join our Save Mass Forests email list below.

Logging of State and Municipal Lands

Massachusetts is fortunate to have 610,000 acres of state conservation lands, stretching from the Atlantic Coast to Mount Greylock. However, none of these lands are permanently protected from logging and other industrial exploitation. Most of the state's 300,000 acres of county and municipal forests are also not protected from these uses. Industrial forest interests claim that logging is good for forest health, wildlife, climate, and the economy. In fact, logging harms all of these values. Here is a shocking overview of how our state lands have been damaged by logging. The January 2024 report of the Climate Forestry Committee, which was appointed by the Healey administration, raised serious concerns about existing management of state lands and made important recommendations for positive changes. Here are some key excerpts from the report.

Woody Biomass Subsidies

Industrial forestry and biomass energy interests are pushing expanded programs to cut down forests and burn them for heat and electricity. They ignore the fact that this promotes deforestation, releases twice as much carbon as burning coal, and spews toxic pollution that harms public health. Despite the many reasons to oppose wood energy, Massachusetts state agencies have approved regulations that offer public subsidies and incentives to promote the logging and burning of forests for heat. Many nonprofit groups and concerned citizens are opposing this irresponsible policy.

Private Forest Land Protection

The vast majority of Massachusetts forest lands are in private ownership. Forestry interests are trying to persuade more landowners to log their lands. Most landowners prefer to keep their forests standing and there is a state program to provide tax incentives for this. However, this program provides more support for logged forests and this is only temporary. RESTORE is working with other organizations to promote change in state programs that help private landowners to keep their forests standing and to ensure that this protection is permanent.