Each October, Americans pause to recognize an industry that touches nearly every part of our daily lives, from the homes we live in and the paper we use, to the carbon-storing forests that sustain our planet. National Forest Products Week, observed this year from October 19–25, 2025, is an opportunity to celebrate the people, forests, […]
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AFRC, Associated Oregon Loggers Urge Science-Based, Active Forest Management in Blue Mountains Plan Revision
The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) and Associated Oregon Loggers (AOL) have submitted joint comments to the U.S. Forest Service on its Draft Land Management Plan (LMP) for the Blue Mountains Forests Plan Revision, urging the agency to strengthen its commitment to active, sustainable forest management while removing unscientific restrictions and overly complex direction that […]
October 2025 Newsletter
Washington, DC Update Government shutdown Hearing on Public Lands Bills Postponed SPEED Act Greg Hibbard joins AFRC as Staff Attorney Forest Service Fiscal Year Wrap-up BLM End-of-Year Wrap Up AFRC and Calforests Submit Joint Comments Urging Rescission of Roadless Rule The AFRC Podcast Episode 49: Amanda Kaster & Montana’s Historic Stewardship Agreement Fremont-Winema Continues to […]
AFRC and Calforests Urge Forest Service to Rescind Roadless Rule to Restore Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience
For Immediate Release: September 18, 2025 Contact: Nick Smith (503) 515-4206 The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) and the California Forestry Association (Calforests) today submitted formal joint comments to the U.S. Forest Service in support of rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The two associations, representing forest products manufacturers and forest land stewards across the West, […]
USDA Takes Next Steps to Rescind the 2021 Roadless Rule
Featured article from AFRC’s September 2025 Newsletter. On August 27, USDA Secretary Rollins announced the next steps in a rulemaking process to rescind the 2021 Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule has been a roadblock to science-based active management on millions of acres of Federal forests for more than a quarter-Century. Rescinding the Roadless Rule would […]
September 2025 Newsletter
Washington, DC Update Congress returns to consider spending, forest policy Trump appointees await confirmation The AFRC Podcast Episode 48: Fuel Treatments: Smart Investments, Healthy Forests Executive Orders Spur Growth of Landscape-Scale Forest Management USDA Takes Next Steps to Rescind the 2021 Roadless Rule AFRC Submits Comments on USDA Reorganization Plan Upthegrove Announces Proposal to Set […]
Commissioner Upthegrove’s Set-Aside of Public Working Forests Threatens $300 Million in School and Community Revenues
The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) today expressed concerns with Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove’s order to immediately set aside 10,300 acres of state trust lands from sustainable timber harvests, as part of an effort to “conserve” 77,000 acres of these working forests. “Removing these acres from sustainable harvest will mean less revenue […]
Roadless Rule Restrictions Are Leaving Montana’s Forests at Risk
Montana’s National Forests are among the most celebrated public lands in the United States, offering unmatched wildlife habitat, clean water, recreation, and scenic beauty. They also face some of the most severe wildfire threats. These threats are worsened, not reduced by current restrictions under the Clinton-era 2001 Roadless Rule. Approximately 6.4 million acres of National […]
Counterpoint: Keeping Washington’s State Trust Lands Working for the Public Good
In his recent Soapbox opinion, John Talberth calls for ending all timber harvests on Washington’s state trust lands and proposes replacing this revenue with a new tax on forest landowners, new fees on recreation, and selling speculative carbon offsets to investors and multinational corporations. This argument fundamentally misunderstands how Washington’s forest sector works and what’s […]
August 2025 Newsletter
Washington, DC Update Appropriations Trump Appointees Reconciliation Bill Implementation Permitting reform The AFRC Podcast Episode 47: Rescinding the Roadless Rule- Myth vs. Reality USDA, Forest Service Announce Major Reorganization, Opens Comment Period AFRC Comments on USDA/DOI Revise NEPA Regulations Judge DeSoto Denies Preliminary Injunction Request Against the Round Star Vegetation Management Project State of Montana […]