Donald Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk will sit down for their first joint interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity – to be taped and broadcast on Tuesday (US time).
Musk has come under scrutiny for his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – the new body which on Friday sacked 2,300 workers from the US Department of Interior (including 800 from the Bureau of Land Management, responsible for managing 500 million of acres of federal land – from oil and gas development to national parks and timber harvesting).
Federal workers who spoke to The Washington Post on Saturday said the government broke the news to thousands of colleagues via messages containing pre-recorded videos and group video calls:
“Employees were given no notice, no due process, and no opportunity to defend themselves in a blatant violation of the principles of fairness and merit that govern federal employment.”
Everett Kelley, President of the American Federation of Government Employees.
Wood Central understands that the Bureau of Land Management (or the BLM) – which operates separately from the US Forest Service – manages 58 million acres of forest and woodlands in 12 western states and Alaska. In addition to providing wildlife habitat, hiking trails, biking and clean water, it harvests various west-coast timber products, including processed lumber, firewood and teepee poles.
The cuts came after Trump announced that Kathleen Sgamma – a long-time oil and gas industry advocate – would now head the BLM. In a post on X, Ms Sgamma said she is honoured to “help unleash American energy” – with timber harvesting tipped as one of the key areas where Ms Sgamma-controlled BLM differs from the Biden-appointed Tracey Stone-Manning.
In 2021, then-President Biden reversed a Trump decision to open up vast tracts of Alaskain forests and woodland for logging and mining. Already, Trump has repeatedly criticised the BLM for its forest management practices – citing Finland – where forests are raked and cleared to prevent fuel – he has claimed that excessive fuel in forests (rather than climate change) has exacerbated the fire risk.
- To learn more about Trump’s position on sustainable forest management – and harvesting in forestland controlled by the Department of Agriculture’s US Forest Service, click here for Wood Central’s updated article from Friday.
