WASHINGTON— The 9th American Forest Congress has released a slate of principles and resolutions that recognizes the essential role of public lands and conservation in safeguarding the health of the nation’s forests.

The Forest Congress — urged by the Center for Biological Diversity and other conservation groups — adopted measures on critical environmental issues including climate change, biodiversity, ecological integrity, beneficial fire, and old-growth forest protections.

Several resolutions also stressed the importance of federal public forests conservation, transparency and public engagement in management decision making, and keeping these lands in public ownership with an adequate workforce and programmatic investments.

“The American Forest Congress is acknowledging the importance of conserving our national forests at a time when Trump and some politicians want to sell off our public lands. This is huge,” said Ashley C. Nunes, public lands policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “People love to play, hike and relax among trees and they want our forests protected, not plundered or handed off to the highest bidder.”

These resolutions come as national forest protections are under unprecedented attack. Last month the proposed sell-off of public lands in the Republican budget bill was defeated. But the bill still included a provision to increase federal timber production by 270 million board feet each and every year over the next decade, a mandate for unfettered commercial logging that will harm forests, wildlife and watersheds.

The Trump administration is also pursuing an onslaught of other actions, including mandating the increase of timber from public lands, targeting 59% of national forests for logging, rolling back environmental review regulations, and rescinding the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

This release by the Forest Congress also comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Agriculture announcement that all nine regional offices of the U.S. Forest Service will close.

“Our national forests are not only enjoyed by all Americans, they’re critical to combatting climate change, safeguarding clean air and water, and protecting wildlife that depend on them for survival,” said Nunes. “It’s time that our elected officials meet the moment and give the public lands that we all cherish the protection they deserve.”

The American Forest Congress first convened in 1882 to address growing concerns about deforestation and that led directly to the establishment of the U.S. Forest Service. Prior Forest Congresses have adopted principles on a range of issues that have now been reaffirmed including the accessibility of science-based information, the importance of funding research, the values and benefits of forest ecosystems, and the maintenance of federal public lands for present and future generations.