Press Releases

On July 21, 2022, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Conservation Northwest v. Franz affirming the trust mandate that applies to Department of Natural Resources (DNR) state trust lands. This is a major legal victory for DNR, public schools, counties, and many other community service providers,...

The American Forest Resource Council today joined beneficiaries of Washington state trust lands in applauding the Washington State Supreme Court’s opinion in Conservation Northwest v. Hilary Franz, a case where Conservation Northwest attempted to undermine the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) fiduciary duty to manage these working forests, known...

  AFRC has the following to say regarding a report by the “Climate Forests Campaign,” an anti-forestry effort to halt forest management throughout the nation: Old and mature trees are not “worth more standing” if they are dead and emitting carbon. This “report” by anti-forestry lobbyists was released at the...

By Travis Joseph, AFRC President The Forest Service and BLM timber sale programs are essential to preserving and growing the physical and human forest infrastructure that is not only critical to providing carbon-friendly wood products to meet society’s needs but is essential to helping the Forest Service and BLM accomplish...

The American Forest Resource Council had the following to say regarding U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s memorandum directing the U.S. Forest Service to take “bold actions to restore forests, improve resilience, and address the climate crisis.” “Wildfires are converting overstocked federal forests in the West from carbon sinks to...

American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) President Travis Joseph had the following to say regarding the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) ‘carbon project’ on public working forests known as state trust lands: “DNR should follow the recommendations of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the best way to...

AFRC General Counsel Sara Ghafouri had the following to say regarding the Ninth Circuit’s decision today on the Cuddy Valley Forest Health/Fuels Reduction and Tecuya Ridge Shaded Fuel Break Projects on the Los Padres National Forest: “We are pleased with aspects of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that support reducing wildfire...

The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) has formally joined the Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Coalition (KFSC) and Lincoln County in defending the Ripley Project on the Kootenai National Forest. On November 22, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto granted the entities’ joint motion to intervene in litigation against the project to...

The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) today said the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (FWS) critical habitat designation for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) illegally designates over a million acres of federal land that are not NSO habitat. This designation restricts active forest management and fuels activities designed to mitigate...

Counties, educators, labor and business groups and others are defending timber management on state-owned working forests against a legal attack in the Washington State Supreme Court. The entities filed separate amicus curiae briefs in Conservation Northwest v. Hilary Franz, a case that would undermine the Washington Department of Natural Resources’...

The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) today said the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (FWS) decision to withdraw the 2021 critical habitat designation for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) prioritizes politics over science-based solutions to conserve the species as it continues to lose habitat to severe wildfires. AFRC also says...

Oregon would be less safe from wildfire and smoke under congressional legislation to restrict forest thinning and management activities on approximately 3 million acres of federal lands under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, according to testimony from the American Forest Resource Council (AFRC). The bill, S.192, is co-sponsored by...

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai today issued a preliminary ruling on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Pedal Power timber sale near Springfield, determining the BLM adequately analyzed and disclosed how the trail development, timber harvest, and reforestation efforts would affect the level of fire hazard and risk to the...

WASHINGTON (May 21, 2021) — This week, a coalition of agriculture and forestry groups — including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Forest Resources Council, the American Sheep Industry Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the Public Lands Council — filed motions in court in defense of delisting...

The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) applauds a federal court’s May 17 decision allowing the U.S. Forest Service to proceed with the long-delayed Pettijohn Late Successional Reserve Habitat Improvement and Fuels Reduction Project on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest near Weaverville, CA. AFRC intervened to defend the project in the U.S....