Press Releases

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....

The following is a press release from the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM). The full study can be accessed here. CORRIM: The Plant a Trillion Trees Campaign to Reduce Global Warming –Fleshing Out the Concept Bruce Lippke, Maureen Puettmann, Elaine Oneil & Chadwick Dearing Oliver Global warming...

Dead and dying trees will be removed on less than five percent of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands impacted by the Holiday Farm Fire, according to a plan released by the agency on April 27. The BLM’s plan calls for area salvage on just 910 acres.  Though the agency...

The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) proudly welcomes RY Timber as its newest member.  The company currently operates a stud mill in Livingston, Montana, and is one of the top structural lumber manufacturers in the state. In the spring of 2020, RY idled its Townsend, Montana sawmill citing a lack...

The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) proudly welcomes F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. as its newest member. This fully integrated forest products company operates a sawmill near Columbia Falls, MT and sustainably manages a 39,000+/- acre tree farm. According to Stoltze, the company also sources up to 60 percent...

The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) today joined the Association of O&C Counties and counties in Washington, Oregon, and California in challenging the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) illegal delay in implementing its 2021 critical habitat designation for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO). The 2021 critical habitat designation removed...