- President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for a 25% increase in U.S. timber production, citing wildfire prevention, economic growth and reduced reliance on imports as concerns. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins followed up with an emergency declaration to open 112.5 million acres of national forestland to logging.
- The U.S. Forest Service has been instructed to develop five-year plans across its nine regional offices, though specific areas and impacted acreage have not been disclosed.
- Environmental groups argue the order bypasses key legal protections and plan to challenge it in court, and warn of potential harm to ecosystems and endangered species.
Full Story
Timber production in the United States is set to increase following an executive order signed earlier this month by President Donald Trump. The federal directive calls for a 25% boost in domestic timber output and cites concerns over wildfire prevention, economic development and reliance on foreign imports.
“Healthy forests require work, and right now, we’re facing a national forest emergency. We have an abundance of timber at high risk of wildfires in our National Forests,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.
How will federal agencies carry out the order?
In compliance with this order, Rollins issued an emergency declaration last week directing the U.S. Forest Service to open up roughly 112.5 million acres of national forestland across the country to logging operations. Rollins says the initiative aims to increase timber supply, reduce wildfire risks, create jobs, improve wildlife habitats and lower construction and energy costs.
“The USDA Forest Service stands ready to fulfill the Secretary’s vision of productive and resilient national forests outlined in the memorandum,” an Agriculture Department spokesperson said in a statement. “In alignment with the Secretary’s direction, we will streamline forest management efforts, reduce burdensome regulations, and grow partnerships to support economic growth and sustainability.”
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What other actions are being taken to boost US timber output?
According to an internal memo reportedly circulated within the Forest Service, each of the agency’s nine regional offices will be expected to craft a five-year plan to meet the targeted increase in timber production. However, specific details about which forests will be affected and how much land will be impacted in each region have not yet been made public.
The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that the directive will apply to all national forests in California, a state which leads the country in wildfire incidents. Supporters of the plan argue that expanding logging will help thin out dense forests, reduce wildfires and boost the economy in rural areas.
Pushback against the order
Some fire ecology experts suggest that large-scale logging can increase wildfire risk by replacing native vegetation with highly flammable invasive grasses. Additionally, several environmental advocacy groups have voiced concern over the scope and speed of the order’s implementation.
What happens next?
Organizations such as the Center for Biological Diversity argue that the directive bypasses environmental protections, including laws related to endangered species and public comment procedures. The group has indicated it intends to challenge the executive order in court.
“Unleashing the bulldozers and chainsaws on these beautiful public lands will result in clearcuts, polluted streams and extinct species,” Randi Spivak, public lands policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said. “More than 110 million acres of national forests fall under this dangerous edict. We will use every legal tool at our disposal to halt the Trump administration’s implementation of this order.”
