US officials want to increase logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest to fight wildfires and boost rural economies under proposed changes to a three-decade-old sweeping forest management plan.
Wood Central understands that the US Forest Service proposal, released Friday, would overhaul the Northwest Forest Plan, governing 38,000 square miles (about 99,000 square kilometres) in Oregon, Washington, and California.
The plan was adopted in 1994 during the Clinton administration amid pressure to curb destructive logging practices that resulted in widespread clear-cuts and destroyed habitat used by spotted owls. Timber harvests dropped dramatically in subsequent years, spurring political backlash.
Increased logging to reduce the wildfire threat
Federal officials now say worsening wildfires due to climate change mean forests must be more actively managed to increase their resiliency. Increased logging would also provide a more predictable supply of trees for timber companies, officials said, helping rural economies that have suffered amid mill closures and job disappearances.
According to a draft environmental study, the proposal could increase annual timber harvests by at least 33% and potentially more than 200%, increasing the number of timber-related jobs. At the same time, harvest volumes from the 17 national forests covered by the Northwest Forest Plan averaged about 445 million board feet annually over the past decade, according to government figures.
The study concluded that cutting more trees would help reduce wildfire risk and make communities safer. That would be accomplished in part by allowing cuts in some areas with stands of trees up to 120 years old—up from the current age threshold of 80 years.
Officials said the change could help foster conditions conducive to growing larger, older trees that are more resistant to fire by removing younger trees. A separate pending proposal from President Joe Biden’s administration aims to increase protections nationwide for old-growth trees, which significantly store climate change-inducing carbon dioxide.
“Much has changed in society and science since the Northwest Forest Plan was created.”
Jacque Buchanan, regional forester for the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region
Foresters argue that the new proposal would help the agency adapt to shifting conditions, such as increased frequency of droughts and other extreme weather events caused by global warming.
The proposal calls for closer cooperation between the Forest Service and Native American tribes to tap into tribal knowledge about forest management.
Tribes were excluded when the 1994 plan was crafted. Environmentalists, however, have greeted the proposal with scepticism. The group Oregon Wild said it was “deeply troubling” that the Forest Service would release the proposal just ahead of a change in presidential administrations.
“It appears that the Forest Service wants to abandon the fundamental purpose of the Northwest Forest Plan–protecting fish and wildlife and the mature and old-growth forests they need to survive.”
John Persell, an attorney for the group, said in a statement.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, administration officials sought to open millions of acres of West Coast forest to new logging by stripping habitat protections for the imperilled spotted owl. However, government biologists opposed the decision, and the push was reversed under Biden.
A draft environmental study examined several potential alternatives, including leaving the existing plan’s components in place or changing them to reduce or increase logging. A timber industry representative co-chaired an advisory committee on the Northwest Forest Plan, saying the proposed plan resulted from discussions involving committee members, the Forest Service, and others.
“We want to see a modern approach to federal forest stewardship that protects us from catastrophic wildfires, reduces toxic smoke, meaningfully engages tribes, and delivers for our rural communities and workers,” said Travis Joseph, president of the American Forest Resource Council. The proposal’s publication begins a 120-day public comment period. The Forest Service’s environmental review is expected to be completed by next fall, and a final decision is due in early 2026.
- To learn more about how the management of American forests could change under Donald Trump’s presidency, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
