In a bold move that champions both economic growth and practical forest management, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Friday that it will greenlight logging in America’s national forests. This decision, spearheaded by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, follows President Donald Trump’s executive order last month aimed at revitalizing the nation’s timber industry. For Americans, this is a long-overdue step toward restoring common-sense stewardship of our natural resources while bolstering rural economies battered by years of overregulation and neglect.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a memo on Friday allowing the use of more than 112 million acres of national forests for logging to increase timber production and reduce wildfire risk.https://t.co/N5TbnSG1Lk
— NTD News (@NTDNews) April 6, 2025
America’s 154 national forests span roughly 188.3 million acres, with California alone hosting 18 of them. These vast woodlands have been plagued by mismanagement, leaving them vulnerable to devastating wildfires, insect infestations, and disease. “Healthy forests require work, and right now, we’re facing a national forest emergency,” Rollins declared in a statement. She’s right. The data backs her up: Overgrown forests choked with deadwood have fueled catastrophic blazes in recent years, threatening lives, property, and the very ecosystems environmentalists claim to protect. Rollins’ memo promises to expand timber production by 25 percent, empowering the U.S. Forest Service to cut through bureaucratic red tape and take decisive action to thin forests, reduce fire risks, and save communities.
One of the country’s largest forest management plans is facing controversial changes that strongly recommend logging in response to increased wildfires. https://t.co/FXTUAdvNm4
— Courthouse News (@CourthouseNews) April 4, 2025
This isn’t just about trees—it’s about people. Rural America, long sidelined by coastal elites and their regulatory obsessions, stands to gain the most. Logging means jobs—good, honest work for communities that have seen sawmills shutter and livelihoods vanish. By slashing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) hurdles and easing contracting burdens, the USDA is putting faith in forest managers to do what’s right for the land and the people who depend on it. President Trump’s March 1 order set the stage, directing Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to prioritize timber output and sound management over endless environmental reviews. It’s a refreshing rejection of the paralysis-by-analysis that has crippled resource industries for decades.
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Of course, the usual suspects are crying foul. Environmental groups like Earthjustice and the Sierra Club have predictably decried the move as a “chainsaw free-for-all” and a “giveaway to the logging industry.” Blaine Miller-McFeeley of Earthjustice warned of plundered wildlands and worsening climate change, while the Sierra Club painted it as corporate greed run amok. But their rhetoric rings hollow when you consider the facts. Unmanaged forests aren’t pristine paradises—they’re tinderboxes. A 2023 Bioscience study highlighted how even the Forest Service’s tree-planting ambitions are floundering due to seedling shortages and funding woes. Meanwhile, wildfires—exacerbated by neglect—release far more carbon than controlled logging ever could. People see through the hypocrisy: These groups would rather watch forests burn than allow a single tree to be harvested.
The timing couldn’t be better. With trade wars heating up, America’s timber industry needs a shot in the arm. The U.S., China, Russia, and Canada dominate global wood production, but tariffs are reshaping the landscape. Canada, which supplied nearly 91 percent of U.S. lumber imports (14.65 billion board feet) in 2017, now faces a 25 percent tariff, matched by its own retaliatory levy. China’s products, including wood, will hit a new 34 percent tariff starting Saturday. Russia, already boxed in by sanctions, isn’t a viable alternative. By boosting domestic timber production, Trump’s policy reduces reliance on foreign imports, strengthens national security, and counters the economic squeeze of reciprocal tariffs. It’s a classic conservative play: self-reliance over dependence.
Critics will cling to their talking points about recreation, clean air, and wildlife habitats, but they miss the bigger picture. Managed forests can provide all those benefits—and more—when they’re not left to rot or burn. Rollins nailed it: “I am proud to follow the bold leadership of President Trump by empowering forest managers to reduce constraints and minimize the risks of fire, insects, and disease so that we can strengthen American timber industry and further enrich our forests.” This isn’t plunder; it’s pragmatism. It’s a vision of America where rural workers thrive, forests flourish, and the government gets out of the way. For Americans, that’s a win worth celebrating.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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