More than timber—the critical work of Great Lakes forests

When we stand on the shore of a Great Lake, it is easy to forget that the vast body of water before us is connected to a wider upstream watershed (the Great Lakes Basin) that spans nearly 300,000 square miles. It includes headwaters, tributaries, wetlands, inland lakes, and groundwater that are part of the “circulatory system” of the Great Lakes. Clean and healthy waters in the inland basin are essential for cleaner and healthier waters in the lakes themselves.

Great Lakes forests, from the hardwoods to the mixed conifer-hardwood forests to the boreal forests on northern shores, help protect the region’s water quality and aquatic habitat and prevent downstream floods. Forests play a critical role in the water cycle and the carbon cycle. Their rich soils hold rain and snowmelt and are host to webs of nutrient-sharing fungi. The trees themselves store carbon in their living tissue. The leafy canopies capture sunlight, and through photosynthesis, release oxygen and create the sugars that sustain the trees. Along with the oceans, forests are the lungs of the planet. And yet, the region’s forests are under stress from climate change and other pressures.

While forest fires are natural in one respect, there’s nothing normal about the catastrophic scale of climate-driven wildfires of recent years. According to Natural Resources Canada: “Canada’s 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive ever recorded. By the end of the year, more than 6,000 fires [including 713 wildfires in Quebec and 741 in Ontario] had torched a staggering fifteen million hectares [more than six million acres] of land. To put that in perspective, that’s an area larger than England and more than double the 1989 record.” The choking smoke brought discomfort and awareness to human communities across both nations, while the fires themselves destroyed extensive habitat in the northern and subarctic forests and released as much carbon into the atmosphere as the annual emissions of large nations. A very warm spring and hot and dry summer weather created ideal conditions for the unprecedented fires.

Hot weather, drought, and intense storms that bring both lightening and fierce winds increase the risk of wildfires. Invasive species are another stressor that can destroy or weaken trees, (thus increasing fire risk) and the Great Lakes region has a host of them. The Asian Longhorned Beetle loves mining maples to death, the Emerald Ash Borer has wiped out tens of millions of ash trees from forests and neighborhood streets, the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid attacks eastern hemlocks, a keystone species in northern forests, and don’t forget those expert defoliators, the spongy moths.

Despite all this stress the northern Great Lakes forests are also one of the continent’s most important carbon sinks. According to The Nature Conservancy, The Northwoods “are a potential powerhouse for the climate, offering natural climate solutions on a globally significant scale, as well as supporting biodiversity, clean water, jobs and recreational opportunities. We know all these things from the diligent work of scientists in government agencies, universities, and the private sector, but the new administration is shredding federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, and intentionally undermining university research and academic freedom.

So, why would it make sense to put more stress on these vital forest systems and toss the science and experts in the field to the curb? Short-term private profit seems to be the driving motivation, cloaked in concerns about wildfire.

In his March 1 Executive Order, President Trump asserted “Our inability to fully exploit our domestic timber supply has impeded the creation of jobs and prosperity, contributed to wildfire disasters, degraded fish and wildlife habitats, increased the cost of construction and energy, and threatened our economic security. “

Please note that the phrase “fully exploit” is the President’s language. The executive orders include a list of ways to rapidly increase timber production, including bypassing those pesky appeals from citizens groups, tribes, and local governments, and providing mechanisms to exclude NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) requirements, along with potential work-arounds for endangered species protections. Phrases and words like “forest ecology,” “hydrology,” and “conservation” do not appear anywhere in the order. To move this forward, on April 4, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins issued an “Emergency Situation Determination” covering more than 112 million acres (more than half) of the land in the U.S. National Forest System. Apparently, all an agency needs to do to be allowed to work around public process is to declare an emergency. This map shows targeted “emergency” lands, including forests in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

If this administration really cared about forests, they would do something meaningful about climate change—the real emergency—and invasive species policy. They would also invest in research on how to best optimize forest resilience in the face of climate change and the ongoing extinction crisis. We can have healthy forests and manage them in ways that provide forest products, including timber. The mandate of the U.S. Forest Service is to manage forests for multiple purposes, including diverse habitat, ecological protection, and public recreation—not just to provide saw-timber and pulp. The Menominee Nation’s forest serves as one model for thoughtful and successful forest management in the Great Lakes region.

\We need to continue to advocate for better management for these hard-working but vulnerable forests on both sides of the border. They make the region, the Great Lakes, and the global environment healthier and more resilient. Drop a line to USDA Secretary Rollins and let her know that we need science-based and locally informed sound management for these irreplaceable lands and the life within them. Copy your elected officials, and consider reaching out to the binational Great Lakes Executive Committee (GLEC) co-chairs, Teresa Seidel, seidel.teresa@epa.gov, and Véronique Hiriart-Baer, veronique.hiriart-baer@cwa-aec.gc.ca because GLEC is currently reviewing the efficacy of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Let them know that going forward, the Agreement will be stronger, and Great Lakes water quality better, if both nations up their game on protecting the biological and physical integrity of the whole Great Lakes basin.

--Jane Elder

GLEN welcomes diverse perspectives on Great Lakes protection. Please note that the views in our posts are those of the author.