I’ve written quite a bit about forests in our EFM blog over the years (October 2023 and August 2024). I’m led to review and update now because our forests (like everything else we hold dear) are under new threat.
On March 1, 2025, President Trump issued a pair of Executive Orders aimed at promoting domestic production of wood products, and turning our forests into tree farms.
First, he announced the initiation of an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to determine whether imports of lumber, timber, and their derivative products threatens national security, and recommended actions to mitigate such threats, including tariffs, export controls, or incentives to increase domestic production.
Second, he instructed various agencies to conduct a review of federal policies that he believes have prevented the full utilization of domestic timber resources. This Executive Order on the “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production” claims that federal policies have created a reliance on imports. The order directs relevant agencies to “eliminate undue delays in permitting processes related to timber production“ and to “take immediate steps to eliminate or revise agency actions that impose an undue burden on timber production”.
“Trump argues that dramatically increasing domestic timber production is necessary to end a reliance on imported lumber. This is a lie. The United States is the world’s largest producer of timber and timber products. The ports in Oregon are full of raw logs being exported across the Pacific. The overexploitation of America’s forests has placed numerous species on the brink of extinction, dramatically increased wildfire risk, extensively spread noxious weeds, devastated commercial fisheries, created a sprawling, unmaintained road network, triggered deadly landslides, and exacerbated runaway climate change.”
In order to obey this executive order, agencies that manage our public lands, such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, will need to bypass key environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We need to stop them!
Blaine Miller-McFeeley, a representative for the group Earthjustice, said in a statement:
“This executive order sets in motion a chainsaw free-for-all on our federal forests. Americans treasure our forests for all the benefits they provide, such as recreation, clean air, and clean drinking water. But this order ignores these values and opens the door for wild lands to be plundered, for nothing more than corporate gain. In the long run, this will worsen the effects of climate change, while also destroying critical wildlife habitat.”
Industry participants are gearing up to shape any potential changes. We need to gear up as well! Here are some actions we can take:
- Prepare to talk to everyone and anyone about this issue: Check out the Climate Forest Coalition response toolkit.
- Reach out to elected officials, state, local and all U.S. House and Senate district offices.
