Following a Trump-era executive order calling for a 25% increase in timber production on national forest lands—including the Finger Lakes National Forest—local activists raised concerns, prompting U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday to urge the U.S. Forest Service to protect the FLNF from expanded logging.
In response to outreach by Seneca Lake Guardian, the senators also called for restoring full staffing levels at the forest to safeguard New York’s only national forest, which lies on a ridge between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes in Schuyler and Seneca Counties. They emphasized the importance of preserving the area’s trees to protect the Finger Lakes ecosystem, biodiversity, open space, and the region’s recreation and tourism economy.
“We must protect the Finger Lakes from Trump’s attempts to turn our National Forests into timber. The Finger Lakes National Forest is a crown jewel of the region, and a magnet for families and tourists alike to experience the vast nature and beauty of Upstate NY. But Trump’s recent executive order could callously cut down huge chunks of this forest, threatening the Finger Lakes. This unwanted and unwarranted policy would endanger the Finger Lakes National Forest and our thriving outdoor recreation economy,” said Senator Schumer. “Trump’s ill-conceived executive order to cut down large swathes of our nation’s forest could be devastating, even the Once-ler in the Lorax would scoff at it. We cannot let our forest be ripped away from our kids, and the tens of thousands who visit the Finger Lakes every year. That’s why I’m standing up to Trump’s plans and demanding the U.S. Forest Service not increase logging in the Finger Lakes National Forest. I’ve long been a proud supporter of the Finger Lakes National Forest, protecting it from gas drilling and high-volume logging for years. Now, we need to protect Upstate New York’s forest health to preserve the area’s natural beauty so the community and visitors can enjoy this space for generations to come.”
“The Finger Lakes National Forest is an Upstate treasure, and the Trump administration’s plan to increase logging in the area would be catastrophic for the environment and devastating for the thousands of New Yorkers who flock to the area to hike, hunt, and fish,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I am urging the Trump administration to listen to the concerns of the local community and pause any plans for additional commercial logging.”
A letter the Senators sent to Chief of the Forest Service Tom Schultz is below:
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