skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump marks his first 100 days in office in campaign mode, focused on grudges and grievances; Maine's Pingree focuses on farm resilience as USDA cuts funding; May Day' AZ protesters rally against Trump administration; Proposed Medicaid cuts could threaten GA families' health, stability.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump marks first 100 days of his second term. GOP leaders praise the administration's immigration agenda and small businesses continue to worry about the impacts of tariffs as a 90-day pause ends.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Migration to rural America increased for the fourth year, technological gaps handicap rural hospitals and erode patient care, and doctors are needed to keep the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians healthy and align with spiritual principles.

West Virginia Groups Rally to Protect Old-Growth Trees

play audio
Play

Monday, November 14, 2022   

The U.S. Forest Service plans to chop down what conservation groups say are large swaths of old-growth trees in the Monongahela National Forest, and they are rallying today to protest the project.

The trees are located in parts of the 86,000-acre project area, north of Parsons, West Virginia. The Forest Service said logging the area is needed to improve vegetation diversity and stream conditions in the Upper Cheat watershed.

Cory Chase, program director for the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, countered removing mature trees would cause flooding and sedimentation, and endanger habitat for native fish species.

"Some of these trees that we're talking about are 120 years old, at the oldest," Chase pointed out. "Part of the reason that people advocate to keep them there is to sequester carbon, and keep trail systems and habitat for animals intact."

He also noted older trees store higher amounts of carbon, which helps to buffer the effects of climate change. Supporters of the project argued logging will create new habitat for some animals.

Chase explained around 3,400 acres of National Forest land is expected to be logged.

"And of that, over 65% of the project to be cut is over 100 years old," Chase emphasized. "That's from the Forest Service."

Local groups taking part in the rally, include Friends of Blackwater, the Sierra Club West Virginia chapter, Speak For The Trees Too, and the West Virginia Environmental Council.

Chase stressed the Highlands Conservancy is not a formal intervenor in the project, but has reached out to the Forest Service to express concerns.

"We commented early on in this process, and they addressed our comments," Chase remarked. "The Conservancy itself did not put in an objection."

He added residents' drinking water quality is also at risk. According to the World Resources Institute, forests act as natural water filtration systems, and removing trees can increase sediment and contamination, leading to higher water treatment costs.

Disclosure: The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy contributes to our fund for reporting on Public Lands/Wilderness, and Water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A day before Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested, federal authorities apprehended a former New Mexico judge and his wife on charges related to harboring an undocumented immigrant. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Legal experts and advocates are outraged over the arrest of a Milwaukee judge last week who was charged with helping an undocumented defendant avoid a…


play sound

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have proposed privatizing the United States Postal Service by selling it off to a corporation such as FedEx or UP…

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Brett Kelman for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Freda Ross for Arkansas News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service Co…


Advocates from Compassion & Choices attended a hearing for Senate Bill 403 before the State Senate Committee on Health on April 23. (Patricia Portillo/Compassion & Choices)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A bill to make medical aid in dying permanently legal in California goes before the state Senate Judiciary Committee today. The End of Life Option …

Social Issues

play sound

On May 1, Oregon labor and immigrants' rights organizations are gathering in Salem calling for justice for immigrant workers and an end to mass …

play sound

A bill to legalize cigar smoking in designated Montana barrooms has failed a third reading in the state House. Similar legislation is introduced most …

Social Issues

play sound

Tourism generates $3 billion annually in North Dakota but tribal officials say direct spending from visitors does not always reach their areas. Now…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021