Region Archives: United States

A federal judge in Alaska has rejected a lawsuit that sought to reinstate a management plan that would allow heavier logging in the world’s largest temperate old-growth rainforest. The result leaves an Obama-era management plan in place, but it could be short-lived: The administration of President Donald Trump is already at work on a new plan that could allow more logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. …The three groups sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture — the parent organization of the U.S. Forest Service — last year, alleging in part that the federal Tongass Timber Reform Act of 1990 required the Forest Service to offer enough timber sales to meet market demand. Gleason ruled otherwise, finding that TTRA does not impose “a mandatory duty” on the Forest Service to ensure that market demand is met by Tongass timber sales.

OREGON — A mild winter and spring-like weather has helped the Oregon Department of Forestry stay ahead of schedule on replanting state forest timber harvest areas this year, with about two million seedlings already planted. “This has been a great planting season with no shutdowns due to weather,” said John Walter, ODF’s state forests silviculturist. “All our districts are done or will be this month. The only exception being Klamath Lake—they typically plant into May and have about 60,000 to get in.” Douglas fir remains the dominant species in most Western Oregon forests, but ODF said it builds diversity into its reforestation plans to promote resilience and provide additional types of timber products. “This year we planted about 74 percent Doug(las) Fir, 17 percent Hemlock, two percent each of Western Red Cedar and Noble Fir, one percent each of Grand Fir and Sitka Spruce with the remaining three percent Pondarosa Pine,” Walter said.

©BLM_Flickr

The Bureau of Land Management wants to increase logging in western Oregon and public comment is open on the proposal. The “Oregon and California Revested Railroad Lands Act” from 1937 gives the BLM authority to govern 2.46 million acres of federal land in 18 western Oregon counties. The BLM wants to rewrite the plan governing this area to increase timber harvesting in line with “historically higher levels of production” and “the nation’s need for domestic sources of timber and fiber.” According to the BLM, 267 million board feet of timber was harvested from these lands in 2025. From 1960 through 1989, the lands produced an annual average of 1,078 million board feet, before harvesting declined in 1990 in response to the northern spotted owl’s endangered species listing. …The BLM is seeking public comment on “the scope of the analysis, potential alternatives and identification of relevant information, studies and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern” to take into account while writing this plan.

Montana and the U.S. Forest Service announced last week they were moving ahead on a shared agreement between the two to do forestry work in large swathes of the state. Last summer, the state and Forest Service signed an agreement formalizing closer cooperation between federal forest management operations and the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. That came about two months after a Trump Administration executive order seeking to increase domestic timber production. On Friday, Gov. Greg Gianforte, DNRC Director Amanda Kaster and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said that two large areas have been selected for state and federal work. The focus of the work will be on approximately 213,910 acres in the Flathead and Kootenai National Forests and 200,000 acres within the Bitterroot National Forest. The project areas were selected due to wildfire risk and how close they are to being implemented.

Dismantling environmental protections is in vogue, even those enhancing safety and economic prosperity. But California is bucking the trend and now on the verge of modernizing how its 14 Demonstration State Forests are managed. Cal Fire manages these public lands, which span 85,000 acres and 10 counties. Redwoods and other trees are routinely logged to pay for operations, according to a 1947 law that mandates “maximum sustained yield” – that’s simply a euphemism for removing as much lumber as possible without shrinking the forest. This extractive agribusiness model prioritizes revenues, often contrary to the goals of demonstration, recreation and forward-looking research. …In February, Assemblyman Chris Rogers, a Democrat from Santa Rosa, introduced AB 2494, sponsored by the Environmental Protection Information Center, to modernize and align forestry management with the state’s broader goals. The new science-based approach prioritizes restoration and tribal co-management. It decouples funding from timber operations, financing it instead through an existing lumber tax. 

In 2002, Crater Lake National Park ecologist Michael Murray thought the park’s majestic whitebark pine trees were as good as gone. An invasive fungus called white pine blister rust was killing the trees around the crater of the lake. …It was accidentally introduced to the U.S. in a shipment of infected nursery trees from Europe around 1900. Since then, it’s wiped out millions of whitebark pine trees and threatened the survival of the species. But Oregon scientist Richard Sniezko, a geneticist with the U.S. Forest Service, said some whitebark pine trees have natural resistance to the blister rust disease. …Murray took this science with him to his current job as forest pathologist for the ministry of forests in British Columbia. In 2013, he launched Canada’s first blister rust resistance program for whitebark pine, and he has identified about 25 trees in British Columbia that can survive blister rust infection.

Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove commended the Legislature for restoring funding for the Department of Natural Resources’ wildfire prevention and response and community resilience programs. “Wildfire touches everyone in Washington. I commend legislators for recognizing that and – even in a difficult budget year – finding ways to make sure we’re prepared for wildfires when they start and can help prevent them before they even do,” said Commissioner Upthegrove. “As I traveled the state during my first year as Commissioner, I heard over and over how critical this funding is for keeping frontline fire districts equipped, reducing the fire danger in communities near wildlands, and protecting the air quality of our urban centers. I carried that message back to legislators to ensure they understood the stakes – and I am glad they did.” The legislature’s supplemental budget restores $60 million in wildfire prevention and preparedness funding that had been cut last year.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by timber industry groups and operators seeking to force increased old-growth logging in the Tongass National Forest, ruling the industry groups had no valid legal claim. U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason granted the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service’s motion to dismiss and directed the clerk to enter final judgment for the federal defendants. “This ruling is a big victory for the Tongass’ old-growth forests. I’m relieved the court squarely rejected the logging industry’s rash attempt to force large-scale logging,” said Marlee Goska, Alaska attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity in a statement. “We need to leave the Tongass standing for the sake of wildlife, climate and local communities.” The case centered on how the Forest Service manages timber sales in the Tongass, the nation’s largest national forest and the world’s largest temperate old-growth rainforest.

Four Montana-based Conservation Groups — Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Native Ecosystems Council, and Council on Fish & Wildlife — sued the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service for removing wildlife protections on 1.1 million acres of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Montana. The federal government agencies issued a “Forest Plan Amendment” in 2025 to remove protections on 1.1 million acres of habitat that was formerly mapped and protected as “lynx habitat” for the Canada lynx, a threatened species listed under the Endangered Species Act. …The lynx population in the Greater Yellowstone Area is currently at risk of extinction, but if managed properly, the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest could aid the recovery of the imperiled Greater Yellowstone lynx population by serving as a connectivity corridor with the healthier lynx populations in Northern Montana. 

©TravelOregon

An iconic swathe of old growth forest in west Polk County is among the 2.5 million acres the Bureau of Land Management has proposed for a logging ramp-up meant to expand domestic timber production. The Valley of the Giants, home to some of the largest and oldest trees on Oregon’s Coast Range, is renowned for the titanic Douglas firs and Western Hemlocks that compose its canopy. It was recognized as an Outstanding Natural Area and an Area of Critical Environmental Concern by the BLM in 1976. …Now, the agency has identified Valley of the Giants as one of several old growth forests that may fall under President Trump’s logging expansion… The announcement has drawn support from the state timber industry and the ire of environmental groups, but the expansion of logging rights is not a done deal. The BLM is accepting public comment on the proposal via email and on the federal register until March 23.

ELOCHOMAN RIVER VALLEY, Washington — Investment companies have whittled away the land hunters can use in Wahkiakum and Pacific counties. Access to tens of thousands of acres of longtime hunting grounds is now blocked because a new generation of private landowners won’t offer access. The landowners are often investment companies, not based in the region or even the country. Not only is hunting off limits on their lands, they also often block access to adjacent properties that are state-owned — and therefore should be public — or adjacent privately owned property that still allows free hunting. Steve Ogden, an assistant manager for land operations at Washington Department of Natural Resources, said the agency’s hands are tied — private landowners can’t be forced to allow people on their land. The companies’ land restrictions have begun to erase generations-old family traditions, especially among the working class, and reduce access to affordable foods, like elk, in Washington’s second-poorest county.

Montana and the U.S. Forest Service announced last week they were moving ahead on a shared agreement between the two to do forestry work in large swathes of the state. Last summer, the state and Forest Service signed an agreement formalizing closer cooperation between federal forest management operations and the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. That came about two months after a Trump Administration executive order seeking to increase domestic timber production. On Friday, Gov. Greg Gianforte, DNRC Director Amanda Kaster and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said that two large areas have been selected for state and federal work. The focus of the work will be on approximately 213,910 acres in the Flathead and Kootenai National Forests and 200,000 acres within the Bitterroot National Forest. The project areas were selected due to wildfire risk and how close they are to being implemented.

The Bureau of Land Management sold 27.6 million board feet of timber across 1,255 public acres in Oregon, for a total of $8,327,275, and indicates a strong demand in American lumber manufacturing by exceeding total appraised values by over $3 million. This timber will feed local mills and support jobs in local communities. The Coos Bay District sold the Eckley Empanada timber tract (1.8 million board feet, 105 public acres) to Harveys’ Selective Logging, Inc., of Creswell, Ore., for $$142,228. The Medford District sold the Thom Bone timber tract (6 million board feet, 585 public acres) to Estremado Logging Inc. of Gold Hill, Ore., for $458,766. The Northwest Oregon District sold the Gopher Broke timber tract (7 million board feet, 223 public acres) to Boise Cascade Wood Products of Willamina, Ore., for $2,499,716; and the John Boy timber tract (8 million board feet, 167 public acres) to Rosboro Company, LLC, of Springfield, Ore., for $3,913,070.

In western Oregon, public forests that once fueled rural prosperity – and later came under strict habitat protections that sharply reduced logging and local revenues – are again at the center of a political and economic storm. The Trump administration is proposing to quadruple logging in Oregon, raising timber harvests to levels not seen since before spotted owl protections in the 1990s. The plan has stirred a mix of hope and dread across the state. In cash-hungry rural counties hollowed out by decades of dwindling timber receipts … the proposal looks like a long‑awaited lifeline that could stabilize county budgets and create new jobs. … But in forested watersheds and old growth reserves, a sweeping expansion of logging would undermine hard-won conservation protections and threaten the recovery of the northern spotted owls, marbled murrelets and coho salmon…

As retired Forest Service leaders who had the privilege of managing millions of acres of national forests across the West, we understand the importance of stewarding these lands for the benefit of local communities and the nation. Full repeal of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule would undermine trust in agency managers, hinder collaborative agreements, adversely affect resources the public cares about and ultimately restrict efficient land management. Repealing the rule is favored by many of those who opposed it from the beginning or perceive that it undermines effective forest management. …after over two decades of implementation and learning, forest managers and partners know there could be thoughtful improvements to the Roadless Rule. …Rather than seeking to repeal the rule, the Forest Service should meaningfully engage stakeholders to update the rule and improve implementation based on what has been learned over the past 25 years. This will allow future land managers to benefit local communities and the nation.