US plans new forest protections, issues old-growth inventory

Fire burns in the hollow of an old-growth redwood tree in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Calif. The Biden administration has identified more than 175,000 square miles of old growth and mature forests on U.S. government lands. The Associated Press obtained details on the government's first-ever national inventory of older forests in advance of their expected public release on Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)