New executive orders from the Trump administration call on federal agencies to fast-track logging projects by circumventing endangered species laws, and to investigate whether lumber imports threaten national security. These directives could influence separate logging policies that are currently in the works.
Among those prospective policies is the Fix Our Forests Act, which is set for hearing in the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The bill would allow agencies to fast-track logging projects that are intended to reduce wildfire fuels.
鈥淔ix Our Forests is a logging bill attempting to disguise itself as a legitimate wildfire strategy,鈥� Lauren Anderson, program manager at the environmental nonprofit Oregon Wild, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very direct attack on the public鈥檚 ability to engage in management of public lands, attacking our bedrock environmental laws, and our last remaining mature and old growth forests.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 orders also come as the Forest Service is finalizing years of work on amending the , which broadly outlines when and where logging can occur across 24.5 million acres of federal land in western Oregon, Washington, and northwestern California. Some environmentalists worry the president鈥檚 directives will push the Forest Service to pursue a more timber-friendly amendment to the Northwest Forest Plan 鈥� particularly if the agency is acting under Trump鈥檚 order to circumvent endangered species assessments ahead of timber sales.
鈥淭his executive order is a clue, right?鈥� Oregon Wild staff attorney John Persell said. 鈥淚t tells the agencies to look for any and all ways to unburden themselves in order to ramp up logging.鈥�
The "" executive order directs all federal agencies to rescind regulations that 鈥渋mpose an undue burden鈥� on timber production. Citing unspecified emergency powers, Trump calls on forest agencies to sidestep environmental rules meant to protect over 400 threatened and endangered species, including wild salmon, marbled murrelets and spotted owls.
Before proceeding with a timber sale, federal agencies like the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are required to survey forests for critical habitat, like old growth trees that shelter marbled murrelets and spotted owls. Environmental groups fear these orders will speed through that process, or eliminate it entirely.
鈥淚f implemented, this directive will have disastrous effects on clean water, salmon and wildlife recovery, and climate stability,鈥� Grace Brahler, wildlands director at the Eugene-based nonprofit Cascadia Wildlands, said in a statement.
Trump鈥檚 other directive, called "," classifies the timber industry as 鈥渆ssential to the national security, economic strength, and industrial resilience of the United States.鈥� It commands the secretary of commerce to evaluate the 鈥渘ational security risks鈥� associated with importing raw logs and timber products from other countries.
Timber groups and many Republican lawmakers immediately applauded Trump鈥檚 new directives.
鈥淭hese executive orders state the obvious but provide the clarity and leadership past administrations have failed to say out loud and prioritize: America鈥檚 wood products should come from America,鈥� Travis Joseph, president of the Portland-based timber trade association, American Forest Resource Council, said in a statement.
Some experts say it鈥檚 too soon to tell how these presidential directives will affect Oregon鈥檚 timber market, particularly Trump鈥檚 order on fast-tracking timber sales to benefit logging companies and mills.
鈥淭here are a lot of layers in that executive order,鈥� Mindy Crandall, associate professor of forest policy at Oregon State University, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take a long time before we really see how this is going to play out.鈥�
Crandall said Canadian imports make up a large chunk of the U.S.鈥榮 softwood lumber supply. Oregon also leads the nation 鈥� so in some ways, limiting Canadian imports could benefit Oregon softwood growers.
Still, Crandall suspects any policy changes will likely result in only short-term windfalls for Oregon mills and forest owners.
鈥淏ig policy swings right now are perceived as only going to be in place for four years,鈥� Crandall said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 lead to a lot of business operating stability, right? Businesses make decisions based on lots of factors, including longer-run expectations.鈥�
Crandall also doesn鈥檛 think these directives will push federal forest agencies to start chopping down old growth trees, because most mills aren鈥檛 equipped to process those large logs.
鈥淥ur processing infrastructure isn鈥檛 built around them anymore,鈥� Crandall said. Our processing infrastructure is built around really consistent, 40-year-old Douglas fir trees coming off of plantations."
That鈥檚 evident in data from the state agency Oregon Forest Resources Institute, which shows that most timber logged in Oregon comes from 鈥� not federal or state land.
