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Wildfires

USDA Plans to Expand Logging by 25 Percent, Dismantling Environmental Review System

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

In a recent emergency directive, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to expand logging and timber production by 25 percent, effectively dismantling the half-century-old environmental review system that has blocked the federal government from finalizing major decisions concerning national forest lands without public insight. The plan, set in motion by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, aims to increase timber outputs, simplify permitting, and eliminate certain environmental review processes, citing reduced wildfire risk as the primary motivation. However, environmentalists argue that this approach is likely to escalate wildfire risk and contribute more to climate change.

Key Takeaways:

  • The USDA's plan to expand logging by 25 percent would result in the removal of half-a-century-old environmental review processes, allowing the federal government to finalize major decisions concerning national forest lands without public insight.
  • The plan designates 67 million acres of national forest lands as high or very high wildfire risk, classifies another 79 million acres as being in a state of declining forest health, and labels 34 million acres as at risk of wildfire, insect, and disease.
  • The proposed expansion would encompass 59 percent of Forest Service lands, affecting states such as California, Colorado, Idaho, and Arizona.
  • Environmentalists argue that the administration's plans to increase timber outputs, simplify permitting, and eliminate environmental review processes are likely to escalate wildfire risk and contribute to climate change, citing the carbon costs of cutting down forests.
  • A map accompanying the USDA memo indicates the stretches of forest that the agency has identified under the emergency designation, with parts of the South, around the Great Lakes, and New England also included.
  • The USDA has not specified how many acres will be impacted per state.
  • The agency's emergency order and push to expand logging to mitigate wildfire risk is not a new strategy, with similar declarations passed in past administrations.
  • The new directive aims to "remove" National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes, which would allow logging companies to extract timber without evaluating environmental impacts.

Statistics:

  • 67 million acres of national forest lands designated as high or very high wildfire risk.
  • 79 million acres classified as being in a state of declining forest health.
  • 34 million acres labeled as at risk of wildfire, insect, and disease.
  • 59 percent of Forest Service lands to be affected by the expansion plan.
  • 25 percent increase in planned logging and timber production.

Sources:

  • Grist, "In a move to boost logging, the USDA's plan could worsen wildfires" (https://grist.org/)
  • USDA memo
  • Lisa Dale, lecturer at Columbia University's Climate School
  • Anna Medema, Sierra Club's associate director of legislative and administrative advocacy for forests and public lands
  • Jack Algiere, director of agroecology at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture
  • Institute for Nonprofit News’ On the Ground news wire (https://inn.org/)

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