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HELENA, Mont. – Governor Gianforte today announced Willy Peck as the recipient of the 2026 Governor’s Forest Products Award in recognition of his more than five decades of work in the forest products industry and his contributions to active forest management, collaborative stewardship, and Montana’s rural economies. “Willy has dedicated his career to keeping Montana’s forests healthy, productive, and resilient while supporting the communities that depend on them,” Gov. Gianforte said. “His hands-on experience and ability to bring agencies, counties, and industry partners together have made him a trusted leader in advancing forest management across western Montana.” Based in Superior, Willy Peck serves as a natural resource advisor for Mineral, Powell, and Sanders counties and co-chairs the Mineral County Resource Coalition. Since beginning his career in 1972, he has worked in nearly every facet of the forest products industry, including logging, milling, resource management, and industry outreach.

Flathead National Forest announced the Big Mountain Fuels Reduction Project on Feb. 20. Two months later, machinery was rolling, and timber was being harvested from the slopes at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Now, the project is nearly wrapped up… A two-week public comment period was provided ahead of the 200-acre project, intended to protect the ski resort’s infrastructure from wildfire risk. Deemed by forest officials to not have significant environmental effects and seen as addressing a high-risk area, the project was categorically exempt and authorized as an emergency. It represents just one of many local timber projects that are moving forward more quickly and with a narrower opportunity for public scrutiny following policy changes at the federal level.   Locally, foresters say the new rules are generally proving to be more efficient, while conservationists express concern over environmental effects and a rushed public participation process.  

A hearing on whether to grant a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction to stop logging in Giant Sequoia Groves in the Sequoia National Forest’s Giant Sequoia National Monument was scheduled to be held today. …A lawsuit was filed by the John Muir Society Earth Island Institute, the Tule River Conservancy and Sequoia Forestkeeper against the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife over the recovery from the 2020 Castle Fire and 2021 Windy Fire. The suit maintains the spotted owl, the Southern Sierra Nevada Fisher and the California Condor are able to survive in the burned areas left by the Castle and Windy wildfires contrary to the position of the management policies which has cleared the way for logging. …The lawsuit also seeks injunctive relief to prohibit further logging in the Giant Sequoia National Monument and that’s what Monday’s hearing was scheduled to be held for.

For decades, the Roadless Rule banned new roadbuilding and logging across millions of acres of national forest land. …Around half of the Tongass in Southeast Alaska has no active roads, an area spanning more than 9 million acres. …the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, said the forest supports Lingit traditions, including harvesting berries and hunting deer. U.S. Department of Agriculture has said rolling back the Roadless Rule would give firefighters access to fight wildfires and remove regulatory barriers. In this part of Alaska, where wildfires are rare, many think that’s an excuse to bolster the timber industry, which has declined significantly since the 1990s. But could the move stimulate a logging boom in the Tongass? “There certainly is a piece that would make some supply available,” said Tessa Axelson, executive director at the Alaska Forest Association, a timber advocacy group. “It is not significant volume that is going to fix the challenges the industry has.”

HELENA — Montana and federal land management officials are expanding their partnership to manage forests and public lands across the state. Gov. Greg Gianforte joined Bureau of Land Management Director Steve Pearce and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Director Amanda Kaster at the Montana State Capitol on Monday to sign a new memorandum of understanding strengthening the state’s partnership with the BLM through the Good Neighbor Authority. The Good Neighbor Authority provides a framework that allows state and federal agencies to work together on forest and rangeland management projects. Under the new agreement, the state and BLM plan to increase collaborative work aimed at expanding timber production, restoring forests and watersheds, reducing hazardous fuels and improving wildlife habitat on public lands.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CAL FIRE) Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP) today announced the release of the latest edition of the California Forest and Rangeland Assessment, a comprehensive,science-based report that examines the health, trends, and resilience of the state’s forests and rangelands amid growing pressures from climate change, wildfire, and land-use change. The new California Forest and Rangeland Assessment is available on the FRAP webpage. To ensure timely access to high-quality data while ongoing review and analysis continue, the Assessment will be released in batches. The final compiled report is expected to be released in Q2, 2027. The Assessment brings together data for more than 50 indicators to show trends in wildfire severity, tree mortality, water resources, wildlife habitat, and climate parameters, as well as several other wildland related topics. Together, these data provide a comprehensive statewide snapshot of California’s natural landscapes and the challenges they face. 

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests’ Norwood and Ouray Ranger Districts have completed the environmental assessment and approved the South Uncompahgre Hazardous Fuels and Ecological Resiliency (SUHFER) project. The project will help reduce wildfire risk, improve forest health and enhance wildlife habitat across portions of the Uncompahgre Plateau and Naturita Division in Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel counties. Implementation of approved projects may begin immediately. … The SUHFER project area covers approximately 267,300 acres, with about 245,000 acres taking place on National Forest System lands. Treatments will focus on making forests and rangelands more resilient to wildfire, drought, insects and disease while improving habitat for big game and Gunnison sage-grouse. The first project to be implemented under this decision is expected to occur in the Naturita Division, south of Norwood, where the district will explore opportunities for combined fuels reduction and wildlife habitat improvement.

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California — The United States Forest Service (USFS) has scaled back a vegetation clearing project for the Los Padres National Forest by about 85% after hearing objections from the public and a coalition of 91 community organizations. Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) officials announced on Oct. 20 that the Wildfire Risk Reduction Project (WRRP) can now commence on 33,023 acres within Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern, Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties. When the WRRP was first proposed in 2022, the project included 235,493 acres. A variety of methods will be used including mechanical thinning, piling and burning, weed-whipping and prescribed fire, LPNF officials said. The project includes portions of the Mount Pinos Ranger District in northern Ventura County but does not include the Ojai Ranger District, because officials said it was funded by money from the electrical utility PG&E which does not serve the Ojai area. 

November is National Career Development Month, an opportunity to recognize the programs introducing young people to careers in the timber and wood products industry and the importance of investing in the next generation of skilled professionals. When we think about the future of the forest products industry, conversations often focus on timber supply, forest management, regulations, and markets. While these issues are critical, there’s another challenge that deserves just as much attention: Who will make up the next generation of our workforce? …To address this need, FRA worked to introduce the bipartisan Jobs in the Woods Act (S. 1336/H.R. 4575). The bipartisan legislation would create competitive grants to expand workforce training, particularly in rural and low-income communities. …The Oregon Forest Resources Institute and the Western Forestry and Conservation Association co-hosted a summit May 2026. The resulting report, Oregon’s Forest Sector Workforce, estimates that Oregon needs about 3,400 new forest operations and management workers each year. 

PORTLAND, Ore. — After more than 2.5 million acres of land were burned, Oregon fire officials announced the end of the state’s 2026 wildfire season on Wednesday. This year’s wildfire season was record-breaking, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry, noting this year’s 2.5 million acres burned exceeded 2024’s state record of 1.9 million acres burned. ODF explained that reduced snowpack in 2025 led to drought and dry fuels across Oregon. That, combined with several lightning events, followed by windy, hot weather, resulted in multiple new wildfires and rapid growth of existing fires in 2026. “As we mark the end of the 2026 wildfire season, I want to thank our first responders, landowners, contractors, local governments, Tribal Nations, the Oregon National Guard, other state and international responders, and every person who worked tirelessly to protect lives and property,” Governor Tina Kotek said Wednesday. “I am deeply grateful for the courage and collaboration that carried us through.” 

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A large logging project near Cooke City and an entrance to Yellowstone National Park has been scrubbed by the U. S. Forest Service after conservation groups challenged the federal government, saying it was using unproven methods at the risk of several endangered species. The Cooke City Fuels Project was withdrawn by the Forest Service and would have encompassed 19,921 acres. The purpose was to reduce the amount of fuels in order to reduce the threat of wildfire using a number of techniques, including “daylight thinning.” The Forest Service would have removed other trees and brush around the endangered Whitebark Pine trees as a means to bolster their chances of survival. However, the conservation groups which challenged the project said that there was no scientific research validating the technique. …Whitebark pine trees are threatened and considered a “keystone species.”