TCA Successes: Saving Forests

For 50 years, Texas Conservation Alliance has been a force for conservation in Texas and beyond. Today, we celebrate TCA’s amazing work to protect our national forests.

Longleaf pine forest by Ronald Billings

It began with Ned Fritz, whose landmark lawsuit to protect endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers ended clearcutting in national forests in Texas. Ned drafted legislation that created five wilderness areas in Texas, garnered protection for the beautiful Longleaf Ridge area, and organized a national network of forest activists. His decades of national forest work led to more ecosystem-based management of national forests throughout the country.

TCA’s Larry Shelton continues that legacy. Larry’s collaboration with the US Forest Service has resulted in thousands of acres of old-growth forest and other sensitive habitats being excluded from logging. TCA is currently nominating three exceptional national forest areas for protected status and in the coming year will provide detailed input on all management activities on Texas’ four national forests.