The Trump administration has raised logging quotas 25% in America’s national forests as part of a bid to increase timber production in the face of tariffs — and to prevent fires by removing fuel and creating firebreaks. [emphasis, links added]
The San Francisco Chronicle reported:
In a move that could substantially reshape California’s natural landscape, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an emergency order Friday to accelerate timber harvesting across nearly 113 million acres of national forests.
The directive, announced by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, mandates a 25% increase in timber quotas nationwide, with particular focus on areas of California, including the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Los Padres and Cleveland national forests.
The order is part of a broader initiative to address what the Trump administration has called a “forest health crisis.”
The new order serves two purposes. One is to control fires.
President Donald Trump said in January that the Los Angeles wildfires were partly caused by California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s refusal to clear brush and dead trees.
The other purpose, though unstated, is likely to increase the supply of lumber and head off potential price increases due to tariffs on Canadian lumber, which could have a cascading effect on the American construction industry.
Environmental groups slammed the move, while the logging industry welcomed the Trump administration’s decision.
Top photo by Yusuf Onuk on Unsplash
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