The new policy streamlines environmental reviews for logging projects, eliminating the administrative appeal process and limiting public input.

On April 5, 2025, the Trump administration announced an emergency rollback of environmental protections for logging in over half of U.S. national forests, citing concerns over wildfire risks.

This directive affects 176,000 square miles of forest land, primarily in the West, South, Great Lakes, and New England, representing 59% of Forest Service lands.

The Forest Service has been directed to increase timber sales by 25% over the next four to five years, responding to industry demands for more mature trees.

The timber industry supports this rollback, believing it will enhance competitiveness and job creation by providing more raw materials for sawmills.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins emphasized the need to empower forest managers to reduce regulations, thereby improving timber production and forest health.

Experts caution that relying solely on logging may not effectively mitigate fire risks, as removing large, fire-resistant trees could increase fire susceptibility.

Environmentalists argue that the policy changes primarily benefit the timber industry rather than genuinely addressing community protection or wildfire risks.

Previous attempts by the Biden administration to manage national forests more intensively and protect old-growth forests faced backlash from the timber industry.

The memo identifies 67 million acres of forest land at high wildfire risk and 79 million acres suffering from declining health due to pests and disease.

Rollins claims that federal policies have hindered the use of abundant timber resources to meet domestic needs, echoing concerns raised by her predecessor.

The administration's actions follow concerns about competitive disadvantages faced by U.S. lumber producers due to foreign subsidies, particularly from Canada.