President Donald Trump’s administration issued an emergency order on Friday targeting a 25% increase in logging quotas following multiple wildfire disasters in recent months.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced an emergency order on Friday to increase timber production in the United States and designate an “emergency situation on National Forest System lands.”
Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins noted in Friday’s order that national forests are currently “in crisis due to uncharacteristically severe wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, invasive species and other stressors.”
Rollins warned that the issues threatening national forests in the United States combined with “overgrown forests,” “rigorous fire suppression,” and an increased number of homes located in the “wildland-urban interface” have led to a “full-blown wildfire and forest health crisis.”
“Immediate action is needed to mitigate risk, protect public health and safety and critical infrastructure, support local and rural economies, and mitigate threats to natural resources on NFS lands,” Rollins stated. “We can do more to contribute to American prosperity and protect our national and economic security.”
In addition to the threat of wildfires, Friday’s emergency order noted that the United States could have more than enough timber to meet the country’s “domestic timber production needs” but that federal policies have traditionally “prevented full utilization of these resources and made us reliant on foreign producers.”
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“It is vital that we reverse these policies and increase domestic timber production to protect our national and economic security,” Rollins added.
Following Friday’s emergency order, Forest Service officials have been tasked with developing plans to increase timber harvesting opportunities by 25% over the next few years, according to The Associated Press.
According to Fox 2, the Trump administration’s emergency order covers roughly 176,000 square miles of forest. The outlet noted that the order designating land for additional timber harvesting is primarily located in the West; however, Trump’s order also extends to forest land in the Great Lakes region, the New England Region, and in the South. Fox 2 reported that the emergency order includes approximately 59% of Forest Service lands.
The Associated Press reported that while environmental activist groups have criticized the Trump administration’s emergency order, the logging industry has pointed to a need for additional logging opportunities.
“This industry needs a raw supply to remain competitive and keep the doors open,” American Forest Resource Council President Travis Joseph said. “We’re not even reaching half of what forest plans currently call for. Let’s implement our forest plans across the country, and if we did that, that should increase the volume that’s available to American mills and create American jobs and create revenue.”
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