In March, the United States Agricultural Department (USDA) directed federal agencies to examine ways to increase timber production across 280 million acres of national forests and other public lands. An emergency order rolling back environmental protections on more than 112 million acres — or nearly 60% — of national forests, followed in April. At the same time, the U.S. Forest Service was ordered to increase by 25% the volume of timber being offered for logging. YSE experts Mark Ashton, senior associate dean of The Forest School, Sara Kuebbing, lecturer and research director of the Yale Applied Science Synthesis Program, and Joseph Orefice, lecturer and director of forest and agricultural operations at Yale Forests, discuss the potential impacts of these orders on ecosystem resilience, wildfire risks, and climate change mitigation. …What are the environmental consequences of increased logging on forest ecosystems, including on biodiversity, soil health, and water quality?