Region Archives: US East

Just weeks after devastating fires ravaged Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt revealed the man in charge of the state’s forest management is out of a job. Mark Goeller has roughly 40 years of forestry experience and has worked as Oklahoma’s State Forester since 2018. Stitt panned the agency’s response to the wildfires that raged across the state in mid-March, burning more than 170,000 acres, killing four, injuring hundreds and destroying more than 400 homes, including one owned by the governor near Luther. At a Wednesday press conference, the governor was asked why Goeller would no longer work in his role. “He’s the head of the forestry department, and we had a horrible, horrible wildfire in the State of Oklahoma, and I didn’t think they did a really good job,” Stitt said in response. It’s unclear what part of the wildfire response Stitt did not like.

Millions of federal dollars promised to Maine woodland to improve harvest practices has been stalled for months without explanation. Landowners and logging companies are increasingly anxious about the funding blockade, and will have to make tough decisions if the money doesn’t come through. Baskahegan Co. Vice President Kyle Burdick said it was banking on federal reimbursements to sustain logging operations on its Down East timberland this year. But if the money doesn’t come through, it will have to potentially lay off logging contractors. Baskahegan was one of six Maine landowners that last year agreed to try out forestry practices that thin out woodlands to encourage bigger tree growth. The pilot project, funded through a $32 million climate smart commodities grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was intended to store more carbon and generate valuable wood products in the future. The funding has been blocked since President Donald Trump put money …under review.

A quiet collapse is sweeping through America’s hardwood log export industry, completely devastating working families in rural communities who’ve been left behind as trade battles play out far above their heads. On March 4, China abruptly banned imports of U.S. hardwood logs, citing pest concerns — though industry insiders believe it was thinly veiled economic retaliation to the Trump administration’s recent tariffs. The impact was immediate and massive: China is the dominant buyer of U.S. logs, importing the vast majority of what America exports. Without that market, the entire industry lost its economic lifeline, according to Seth Riggio, a 35-year-old log broker based in Greenville, South Carolina. The move set off a chain reaction that has pushed loggers, exporters, truckers, and rural communities across the country into financial ruin. …These aren’t corporations with reserves. Most loggers don’t have savings accounts or college degrees. What they have are contracts, equipment, and a forest to work. 

As a log truck driver, I want to share my perspective on the proposed increase in truck weight limits in Alabama. This issue is critical to the livelihoods of many hardworking people and to the… state’s forestry sector. The challenges of operating a log truck have grown significantly in recent years. Insurance premiums keep rising, fuel prices fluctuate unpredictably, and truck maintenance costs have soared due to the increasing price of parts and repairs. Despite these mounting expenses, the rates paid to haul raw wood remain relatively stagnant because of supply and demand constraints. Timber is so plentiful that mills often hit capacity before the end of the workweek, forcing them to impose quotas and stop purchases early. These restrictions directly impact our ability to make a living and keep our businesses afloat. …If weight limits are not raised, the future of Alabama’s log trucking industry — and by extension, the forestry sector — remains uncertain.

NEW YORK — A jury in Georgia has ordered Monsanto parent Bayer to pay nearly $2.1 billion in damages to a man who says the company’s Roundup weed killer caused his cancer. The verdict marks the latest in a long-running series of court battles Monsanto has faced over its Roundup herbicide. The agrochemical giant says it will appeal the verdict. The penalties awarded include $65 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages. That marks one of the largest legal settlements reached in a Roundup-related case to date. …Germany-based Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, has continued to dispute claims that Roundup causes cancer. But the company has been hit with more than 177,000 lawsuits involving the weedkiller and set aside $16 billion to settle cases. Monsanto said Friday’s verdict “conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide.” 

Virginia loggers hope steps taken by President Donald Trump will breathe new life into parts of the Commonwealth they feel have long been abandoned. …Canada is the largest exporter of lumber into the US. The lumber industry in the United State has a long history and has been financially rocky in recent decades. Unregulated cutting up to the 1980s damaged land and water systems. Regulations followed. Then international trade agreements saw production shipped overseas, further denting an industry that literally built America. But loggers in Virginia have stuck with it. Among them is Vance Wright. …Trump’s shortest-term impact on logging may be with tariffs. But logging and timber have long been subject to different international trade deals. And while those international markets arguably killed Virginia’s manufacturing, think Martinsville’s now-shuttered furniture factories, it also opened doors to new opportunities.

…The vast majority of Ohio forestland is privately-owned. While many owners may be tempted to cut and sell trees in the state’s commercial timber market, the Nature Conservancy in Ohio’s Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) outlines a different path forward. The conservation program pays private landowners to protect their forest and capture more carbon. Sustainable Forestry Director Tom Rooney said each participant is guided on how to best care for their individual forest. …These landowners are key to helping Ohio regain lost forestland, Rooney said. When European settlers arrived in Ohio, trees covered an estimated 95% of the state. By the turn of the 20th century, much of the land was cleared to make way for agriculture and industry. Today, only around 30% of Ohio is forested. …Through the program, landowners can sell carbon credits to large companies who want to offset their emissions. 

President Trump wants to ramp up timber production by fast-tracking projects under laws that protect endangered species and other environmental regulations, which could expand logging of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. …The president’s order also directs agencies to convene a committee under emergency regulations that could bypass endangered species protections to clear the way for logging projects. …Environmental groups like the Environmental Law & Policy Center argue that more logging would damage national forests and harm recreation, wildlife and water quality. …A USDA spokesperson said it will continue to protect wildlife under the Endangered Species Act while meeting Trump’s directive.” …Logging advocates like Henry Schienebeck with the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association said stakeholders may have to take a closer look at demand and the capacity of mills to handle more lumber. He said the order represents a golden opportunity for the public to have healthy, well-managed forests.

Conservation Resources, a New Hampshire-based investment firm, has launched a new program for its Alabama timberland. With 15,000 acres of Alabama’s trees in its domain, CR is implementing a program for its holdings that it terms “regenified” management. Regenified is a practice and outcome-based land verification and certification program driving the growth of regenerative agriculture and the adoption of certified products. CR was the first institutional timberland manager to have properties certified by the program. The firm is also perusing the 100 Million Acres Initiative. Founded by partners that include Conservation Resources, the program aims at transitioning 100 million acres — the approximate size of California — nationwide to regenerative management practices. In conjunction with the 10-year initiative, CR pledges to transition 100% of its managed lands to regenerative practices. …The program focuses on restoring the health of the entire ecosystem. It encourages biodiversity, soil health, water conservation and climate resilience.

PELLSTON, Mich. — It is commonly assumed that as forest ecosystems age, they accumulate and store, or “sequester,” more carbon. A new study based at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) untangled carbon cycling over two centuries and found that it’s more nuanced than that. The synergistic effects of forest structure, the composition of the tree and fungal communities, and soil biogeochemical processes have more influence on how much carbon is being sequestered above and below ground than previously thought. …“Time is a playing field, and the rules of the game are things like canopy structure, tree and microbial community composition, and soil nitrogen availability. That means that changes in things like structure, composition, and soil nitrogen are what control forest carbon trajectories, whether quickly or slowly, and whether we are influencing those changes through management or letting them happen on their own terms,” Dr. Luke Nave said.

Don Bragg — one of three inducted into the Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame — was a forester who loved science and sharing that passion with others. The late Bragg joins the Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame roster along with Greg L. Hay and Pete Prutzman. The hall is housed in the Forest Resources Building at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Plaques honoring the three were officially hung this month following last November’s induction ceremony at the Ouachita Society of American Foresters. The Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to forestry in Arkansas, according to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Kirsten Gillibrand

U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Roger Wicker (R-MS) are reintroducing the Forest Conservation Easement Program Act, which would help conserve working forests and give landowners more options to ensure their land is protected. The bill would expand the Healthy Forests Reserve Program and rename it the Forest Conservation Easement Program, which would aim to: Prioritize keeping forests as forests, benefiting the economy and the environment; Help landowners restore and protect habitats for at-risk species while simultaneously increasing carbon sequestration; and Enhance the abilities of the Natural Resources Conservation Service so it can effectively conserve working forests through conservation easements. Landowners would be provided with two options for placing voluntary easements on their land: Forest Land Easements and Forest Reserve Easements.

WASHINGTON — Three former Environmental Protection Agency leaders sounded an alarm Friday, saying rollbacks proposed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin endanger the lives of millions of Americans and abandon the agency’s dual mission to protect the environment and human health. Zeldin said Wednesday he plans to roll back 31 key environmental rules on everything from clean air to clean water and climate change. Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy called Zeldin’s announcement “the most disastrous day in EPA history.” …Zeldin’s comprehensive plan to undo decades-old regulations was nothing short of a “catastrophe” and “represents the abandonment of a long history” of EPA actions to protect the environment, said William K. Reilly, who led the agency under President George H.W. Bush and played a key role in amending the Clean Air Act in 1990. …Environmentalists have vowed to fight the changes, saying it would result in “the greatest increase in pollution in decades″ in the U.S.

…Taylor, Liberty, Nassau and Dixie counties were “critically dependent” on forestry, according to the most recent analysis by the University of Florida’s Food and Resource Economics Department, with the industry accounting for more than 20% of jobs in each. Amid the economic challenges, some timber owners in these communities turn to a copper-colored side hustle: pine straw. The woody needles can be raked annually, offering earlier, more consistent income than timber alone. Profit margins are slim, but generally enough to pay the land’s taxes: a compelling business for producers whose land is already planted in pine. …In a tumultuous timber market, baling pine straw can bail out landowners.

University of Florida: Managing Pine Stands for Straw Production

A new proposed bill would provide real property tax incentives to landowners who voluntarily place permanent protective easements on their forested lands. State law currently provides real property tax reductions for landowners who manage a minimum number of acres of their land for timber production for a period of at least ten years pursuant to a timber management plan approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Landowners who meet these criteria receive a real property tax exemption of up to 80 percent of the assessed valuation of the lands subject to the approved timber management plan. The new bill would provide similar real property tax relief for landowners who place at least ten acres of forested land under a conservation easement that ensures that the tract will be permanently maintained as wild forest land and prohibits the cutting, removal or destruction of trees on the tract (with certain exemptions such as DEC-approved actions to address invasive species).

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. — The still-burning Carolina Forest wildfire highlights the need for more investments into education and prevention programs, the state’s top forestry officials told lawmakers Wednesday. “The agency’s risk of losing these important positions reduces its ability to implement successful prevention campaigns, and (to) assist communities with wildfire mitigation projects which would result in more, larger wildfires and more damage to homes,” Scott Phillips told a Senate Finance subcommittee. “I want to give you a real-world example. At the Covington Drive fire, there were two communities that were severely impacted: Walkers Woods and The Reserve at Walkers Woods,” Phillips said. “Those two communities had very different outcomes.” While no structures were destroyed, Phillips said homes in The Reserve were damaged, while those in Walkers Woods weren’t, since the latter is part of Firewise USA –– a nationwide preparedness program spread across 42 states.

Winter in the South can bring about a sharp change in conditions that impact forests and their many inhabitants. However, new research from the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources finds that, despite these seasonal shifts, forest management efforts are supporting healthy bat populations. As white nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease, ravages bat populations, wildlife ecology and management professor Steven Castleberry wanted to ensure all other aspects of bat livelihood were being maintained. “There’s nothing really we can do about that disease. All we can do is continue to provide proper habitats,” Castleberry said. “As those populations recover, we ensure that those quality forests and habitats are still there.”.. Castleberry points out that most privately owned forests already provide a suitable balance for bats during the winter. Moving forward, forest managers should maintain this equilibrium rather than make drastic changes.

Paul Jackson

Louisiana Tech University has named Dr. Paul Jackson the new director of the School of Agricultural Sciences and Forestry. Jackson, a faculty member with more than 12 years of experience at the University, brings a wealth of knowledge, passion, and leadership to his new role. A native of Hargis, Louisiana, Jackson has made significant contributions in both the classroom and the community. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Northwestern State University, a Master of Science in Environmental Biology from Louisiana Tech, and a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Auburn University. Jackson has taught several plant science courses at Tech, including greenhouse management, pest management, landscape plants, and landscape design and contracting. His research focuses on tree seedling nursery management, with the goal of improving seedling quality and survival rates for successful planting.

HORRY COUNTY, S.C.  — As the Covington Drive fire in Carolina Forest reaches Day 11, the South Carolina Forestry Commission told News13 the agency will cover all its costs associated with fighting the blaze but that it’s “too early to know” what the actual price will be. “We will cover all our costs associated with the fire — personnel, food, lodging, equipment, etc,” the agency said. “Since the Southeast Compact was activated, we will reimburse the Florida IMT for their costs — personnel, food, lodging, equipment. As with all large incidents of this type, there will be expenses we don’t even know about yet that we will have to pay for.” The forestry commission said since the fire management assistance grant was approved, FEMA will reimburse agencies and fire departments for 75% of approved costs. 

Does the Black Hills need a viable timber industry to help manage its forests? Absolutely. Recently, U.S. Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds, U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden have been pressuring U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to increase timber harvesting in the Black Hills National Forest. Paradoxically, this may lead to the demise of the Black Hills timber industry. The quantity of trees suitable for logging — known as the standing timber inventory — in the Black Hills National Forest has been in contention for at least 10 years. …If the amount of timber harvested in the Black Hills returns to levels that are not sustainable, the timber industry could cut itself out of business. The forest already has few options for finding more timber.

On Thursday in a joint statement, the Vermont Woodlands Association (VWA) and Vermont Loggers Education to Advance Professionalism (LEAP) announced they are merging. “As many of you know, VWA and LEAP have always shared a common goal—supporting responsible forest stewardship and the professionals who implement the practices that keep our forests healthy, productive, and resilient. With the upcoming retirement of David Birdsall as Executive Director of LEAP, VWA and LEAP are working to bring LEAP under the VWA umbrella as a continued program.” …Bringing VWA and LEAP under one roof will better support Vermont’s forest stewards, landowners, forestry professionals, and loggers and strengthen our collective commitment to forest stewardship and professionalism. We are excited about this new chapter and the opportunity to continue supporting Vermont’s woodland community together.

Legislation introduced by the Alabama Forestry Association would significantly worsen the condition of local and state roads and bridges, as well as hinder safety inspections of commercial vehicles. “The legislation is to allow significantly heavier axle weights to be hauled by large trucks — a move that is difficult to comprehend when the truckers already complain of sky-high liability insurance rates and serve as the primary target of advertising by personal injury law firms,” said Alabama Department of Transportation Deputy Director George Conner… “The math is simple: heavier truck axle weights are exceptionally dangerous and destroy roads and bridges; even heavier axle weights will be more dangerous and will destroy roads and bridges even more quickly.” …The Forestry Association’s proposal would increase the legal limit for a single axle from 20,000 pounds to 22,000 pounds while increasing the legal limit for two axles (tandem axles) from 34,000 pounds to 44,000 pounds.

CHEYENNE, Wyoming — Rep. John Eklund thought back a half century, to an era when commercial sawmills processing Wyoming timber abounded and logging was the Equality State’s third-largest industry. “We should be able to get back to that,” the Cheyenne Republican said Tuesday morning in the Wyoming Capitol. …Commercial logging in national forests around the country, including Wyoming, has fallen off dramatically from its heyday. Cut and sold timber has stagnated at a fraction of what it was from the 1950s through the 1980s for three decades running, U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows. …Trump’s order isn’t the only prospective policy change afoot that could revitalize commercially cutting American forests. The “Fix Our Forests Act,” has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and moved to the U.S. Senate. The bill, proving divisive in big commercial timber country, would further expedite environmental reviews — and could potentially have immediate impacts in Wyoming.

Angela Bartholomay

BOTTINEAU – Angela Bartholomay, an associate professor of Science at Dakota College at Bottineau, is the recipient of the 2025 Project Learning Tree (PLT) Leadership in Education award. Bartholomay has been honored for her work promoting environmental stewardship through education for more than 30 years, according to a DCB news release. PLT, an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), is an award-winning education program that advances environmental awareness, forest literacy and green career pathways, using trees and forests as windows on the world. The Leadership in Education award recognizes educators who make significant contributions in their state to PLT and youth environmental education. …Bartholomay, along with Butch Bailey, a forester and instructor for Mississippi State University Extension Service, and Susan Cox, Conservation Education coordinator for the USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region, will be honored at the 2025 PLT Annual Conference in Clemson, South Carolina, from March 10-14.

The US Department of Agriculture revoked a federal tree-planting grant to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful in a move the nonprofit’s CEO Kranowitz said may be the result of anti-DEI initiatives coming from the Trump Administration. The money would have helped KIB plant more trees throughout the city, and those plantings should not be all the same kind of tree, Kranowitz explained. The $400,000 grant for urban forestry projects was awarded to the organization in January through the Arbor Day Foundation, but was then clawed back on Tuesday. There’s growing evidence that words like “biodiversity” are being targeted by federal agencies bent on terminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives across the country. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins recently cancelled a federal contract in Hawaii for an agency meeting on biodiversity and has identified and canceled other training programs on environmental justice claiming they run “contrary to the values of millions of American taxpayers.”

Justin Baker and Mirela Tulbure, both professors of forestry and environmental resources in the College of Natural Resources, are among 20 early- and mid-career NC State faculty to be named 2024-25 University Faculty Scholars. Established by Chancellor Randy Woodson in 2012, the University Faculty Scholars program recognizes faculty for their outstanding academic achievements and contributions to NC State through their teaching, scholarship and service to the university and beyond. Baker, who holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University, joined the College of Natural Resources in 2019. …Tulbure, who holds a Ph.D. from South Dakota State University, also joined the College of Natural Resources in 2019. 

A group of scientists has been quietly working for decades on a project to improve tree genetics, with white oaks among the target species for the UT Tree Improvement Program. For those who are curious, genetics in organisms refers to the study of genes and how they are passed down from generation to generation. Genetics in trees, however, focuses on the study of genes within tree species and examines how their genetic makeup influences traits such as growth rate, wood quality, and resilience to environmental stresses. Scott Schlarbaum, a distinguished professor of forestry at UTIA, leads the UT Tree Improvement Program and is among the co-authors of the paper that describes the white oak genome and how local adaptations may have implications for the species in relation to heat and drought stress. Photo by A. Mains, courtesy UTIA.

Gov. Kemp joined Georgia Department of Natural Resources leaders in recognizing four corporate forest landowners for stewardship and land management practices benefiting Georgia wildlife. Georgia Power, Weyerhaeuser, PotlatchDeltic and Forest Investment Associates were named DNR’s Forestry for Wildlife partners for 2025. Forestry for Wildlife Partnership is a voluntary, 30-year-old program that promotes wildlife conservation and sustainable forestry as part of forest management. Partner projects are coordinated by DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division and focused on improvements synced with the Bobwhite Quail Initiative and State Wildlife Action Plan, two statewide strategies. Work varies from restoring habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers to preserving wetlands used by rare amphibians and prairies harboring endangered plants.

ASHEVILLE – Caroline Becker was on a list of probationary employees who would soon lose their job with the U.S. Forest Service. Becker, 23, who was employed as a GIS specialist at the agency’s Asheville headquarters, would have celebrated her one-year anniversary as a full-time employee on Feb. 25. Instead, Becker received a letter from Dedra Fogle, the U.S. Forest Service’s human resources director, notifying Becker of her termination. …“The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest,” Fogle wrote. …A program manager with the U.S. Forest Service who spoke to the Citizen Times on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from her employer, said the recent firings are a huge strain on the already understaffed agency and pose a major threat to the Helene recovery effort and future wildfire response.

Additional coverage from Colorado, Montana and Idaho: More than 150 Forest Service workers managing public land in Colorado lose jobs as part of Trump cuts – Several of the fired workers shared the Feb. 14 email from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management that informed them they were being fired. The email said they were losing their jobs based on performance. One Forest Service worker told The Sun that neither they nor any of their fired colleagues had ever received any negative feedback on annual performance reviews. 

On Feb. 6, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun wrote to the United States Forest Service (USFS) asking for the immediate withdrawal of a forest management project that would log 5,000 acres and burn over 15,500 acres of the Hoosier National Forest—204,000 acres of woodland located in south central Indiana. It is known as the Buffalo Springs Restoration Project, and it would directly impact Tucker Lake, Springs Valley, Youngs Creek and Lick Creek Trails, affecting the habitats of Indiana wildlife and a popular recreation site. The project is set to begin this month. Braun is selling property close to the project area for $1,675,000 and has a listed asset of over $250,000 worth of “timber ground” in the French Lick area. …A USFS newsletter explains the reasoning behind the project: concerns about disease and wildfires from dry plant matter and trees in the area and carbon emissions from decaying wood. …Braun and many other Hoosiers are still in opposition. 

A recent letter penned by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun urged federal officials to “immediately withdraw” a controversial plan to log and burn nearly 20,000 acres of The Hoosier National Forest. The Buffalo Springs Restoration Project, proposed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), seeks to log 5,000 acres and burn 15,500 acres of the national forest land in southern Indiana.  Although USFS originally estimated a decision on the project would come in January — and that work could begin early this year — a final determination is still pending. When proposed in 2021, it was pitched as a way to improve sustainability of the forest’s oak-wood ecosystem. The removal of non-native pine trees would also regenerate native hardwood communities and “improve overall forest health and wildlife habitat,” according to the federal agency. But in a letter sent last week to USFS Chief Randy Moore, Braun pointed to increasing pushback from Indiana residents, and said the project could threaten the drinking water for more than 100,000 Hoosiers.

Texas A&M Forest Service awarded over $951,000 to 168 landowners to conduct prescribed fires this year. This funding will treat 35,138 acres. Prescribed fire is a strategic land management tool that uses low-intensity fire on a specific area of land to achieve set goals. Prescribed fire is the most effective and efficient land management tool for decreasing the risk of catastrophic wildfires by reducing hazardous fuels. “Over the past 10 years, our prescribed fire grants have treated over 100,000 acres helping reduce the risk of wildfire,” said Karen Stafford, Texas A&M Forest Service Community Resiliency Coordinator. “Our prescribed fire grants prioritize wildfire mitigation and emphasize protecting homes, communities and natural ecosystems.”.. Following the burn, management goals and the ecosystem are monitored by Stafford and her team.

Lookout Mountain native Kerry Phillips, 34, said he is “humbled” to be given the Georgia Forestry Commission’s 2024 Director’s Award. This is the first time the honor has been presented to a GFC employee for their performance excellence. Phillips has been serving as Acting Chief Ranger for GFC’s Dade County Unit for the past year. He stepped into the role after a harrowing wildfire accident injured his predecessor early last year. …The Director’s Award recognizes Phillips’ ability to manage emergency situations, especially as the north Georgia drought worsened and wildfire conditions increased. His leadership in Dade County ensured operations continuity, though faced with numerous geographical, demographical, and political challenges. He is credited for working tirelessly on region-wide projects and trainings, and contributing to important leadership initiatives. Phillips is well known for his professionalism and his commitment to the wildland firefighter core values of duty, respect, and integrity.

Alabama’s roads and bridges are already under immense strain, but two bills moving through the Legislature could accelerate their decline—adding 150 million dollars in maintenance costs annually, reducing highway lifespan by up to 30 percent, and forcing weight restrictions on hundreds of bridges. Senate Bill 110 and House Bill 204 would allow heavier log trucks to operate on Alabama highways while simultaneously limiting enforcement by requiring state troopers to escort overweight trucks to permanent platform scales—effectively halting roadside safety inspections for extended periods. Experts warn that these changes could have devastating consequences for infrastructure durability, public safety, and taxpayer-funded repairs. The push for heavier loads is being driven by logging and timber industry interests, which stand to benefit financially from relaxed restrictions. However, transportation and infrastructure experts warn that the cost to the public far outweighs any economic gain.