Rule has limited access and proactive forest management as wildfire risk and forest mortality have increased across the West The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) welcomes the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, saying the action would give professional land managers greater flexibility to address wildfire risk and declining […]
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August 2026 Newsletter
Washington, DC Update House and Senate Pass Competing Continuing Resolutions Senate Farm Bill Hits Snag Bentz, Merkley Introduce Bipartisan Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act The AFRC Podcast Episode 59: PERC’s Jonathan Wood on Wildlife and Forests USDA Announces Investments in Wood Products Industry, Biomass, New Market Opportunities Grasshopper Fire Shows the Cost of Delayed Forest […]
Federal Judge Recommends Upholding Collaborative Forest Management Project Designed to Reduce Wildfire Risk
Recommendation comes weeks after the Grasshopper Fire underscored the cost of delaying collaborative forest management A federal magistrate judge has recommended dismissing legal challenges to one of Oregon’s largest collaborative forest management projects, marking a major legal victory for years of work to reduce wildfire risk, improve forest health, and restore thousands of acres on […]
Oregon’s Grasshopper Fire Puts Spotlight on Litigation That Delayed Wildfire Prevention
Anti-Forestry Group Collected $55,000 from Taxpayers After Suing to Delay Forest Management The Grasshopper Fire is burning through forests on Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest that were identified and prioritized years ago for hazardous fuels reduction through a collaborative effort involving local communities and the U.S. Forest Service. Yet much of that work remains unimplemented […]
July 2026 Newsletter
AFRC President Testifies before Congress, Highlights the Importance of the Forest Products Industry to Managing National Forests Washington, DC Update Farm Bill Fix Our Forests Act Appropriations The AFRC Podcast Episode 58: Dr. Norm Johnson and the Northwest Forest Plan, Lessons Learned and the Future Forest Service 3rd Quarter Accomplishments Forest Service Releases Nationwide Post-Fire […]
New Lawsuit Threatens Forest Management as Oregon Faces Another Summer of Wildfire and Smoke
A new lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Bureau of Land Management’s Northwestern and Coastal Oregon Resource Management Plan for western Oregon’s O&C lands threatens to delay active forest management across 1.3 million acres just as Oregon enters another dangerous wildfire season, the American Forest Resource Council said today. The lawsuit asks a federal court to […]
June 2026 Newsletter
Washington, DC Update Forest Service Oversight hearings, Reorganization Interior Appropriations Pearce Confirmed as BLM Director AFRC Joins Markets Matter Convening in Madison, Wisconsin The AFRC Podcast Episode 57: Is Federal Timber Turning a Corner? Northwest Forest Plan 30-year Socioeconomic Report Published District Court Vacates the Bureau of Land Management’s Blue and Gold Harvest Plan Bitterroot […]
Starwagon Timber Sale Shows How Washington DNR Is Reducing Revenue for Public Schools and Community Services
Agency’s Fiscal Crisis Deepens As Campgrounds Close, Public and Private Sector Jobs Put at Risk For Immediate Release: June 4, 2026 Contact: Nick Smith The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is on track to sell the lowest volume of timber in 26 years, reducing revenue to schools, counties, universities, and other trust beneficiaries while […]
May 2026 Newsletter
Washington, DC Update Key Interior Appropriations Updates Farm Bill Passes; Woody Biomass in RFS Amendment Fails The AFRC Podcast Episode 56: Chief Schultz Takes Us Inside the Forest Service Reorganization AFRC Goes to Washington, DC on Earth Day AFRC Completes Record-Breaking 2026 Annual Meeting, “Transformational and Durable” Forest Service 1st Half Accomplishments Western Oregon BLM […]
April 2026 Newsletter
Washington, DC Update God Squad Forest Service Announces Agency Reorganization Forest Service Updates Timeline for Northwest Forest Plan Amendment and USDA Finalizes NEPA Regulations The AFRC Podcast Episode 55: Travis Joseph; A Reset for Western Oregon’s BLM O&C Timberlands BLM Proposes New Categorical Exclusions Tri-Forest Proposal Aims to Strengthen Timber Supply in Eastern Montana Oregon […]