The American Forest Resource Council mourns the passing of Paul Beck, a respected leader whose decades of service left a lasting mark on the forest products industry and the communities it supports. AFRC President Travis Joseph reflected on Paul’s impact: “The American Forest Resource Council mourns the passing of Paul Beck. Through his life […]
Press Releases
Washington State Trust Lands, DNR Face Revenue Crisis as DNR Timber Sales Fall to 22-Year Low
AFRC warns historic decline in timber volume and 77,000-acre set-aside will deepen budget shortfalls for schools, counties, and essential public services The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) today raised alarms about a historic collapse in Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) timber sales on state trust lands, warning that the decline threatens funding for public […]
Tom Partin: Another Forest Project Halted While Montana Wildfire Risks Grow
Note: This piece was originally published in The Missoulian, December 30, 2025 Once again a federal court decision has stopped a well-designed forest management project, leaving communities and wildlife habitat more vulnerable to wildfire while a small group of anti-forestry activists declares victory. The recent ruling vacating the South Plateau Project on the Custer-Gallatin National […]
AFRC President Calls for EAJA Reform in Testimony Before House Natural Resources Subcommittee
American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) President Travis Joseph testified today before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Natural Resources Committee calling on Congress to modernize the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). Joseph said EAJA has strayed far from its original purpose and now subsidizes litigation that delays essential forest management, wildfire […]
AFRC Defends BLM’s Blue and Gold Project Supporting Oregon Jobs, Communities, and Forest Health
The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) appeared in federal court today before United States District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai to defend the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Blue and Gold Project. AFRC, along with the Association of O&C Counties, intervened in Cascadia Wildlands v. United States Bureau of Land Management to support rural Oregon jobs, timber […]
Wildfire Smoke: A Growing Threat to Air Quality and Public Health
Wildfire smoke is now one of the largest and fastest growing sources of harmful air pollution in the United States. Emissions from severe wildfires rival many industrial and transportation sources regulated under the Clean Air Act. Unmanaged federal forests are fueling increasingly destructive fires whose smoke is erasing decades of progress in protecting air quality […]
Celebrating National Forest Products Week: Honoring Our Forests, Our People, and Our Future
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]