USDA order paves way for clearing of federal forests, including Michigan lands
USDA order paves way for clearing of federal forests, including Michigan lands
Millions of acres of national forests, including a sizeable portion in Michigan, may be cleared for timber production in a bid to reduce wildfire risk under a new U.S. Department of Agriculture plan.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins issued a memo Thursday that created an “Emergency Situation Determination” involving 112.6 million acres, or about 59% of all National Forest System lands.
The Department of Agriculture couldn’t specify how many acres would be affected in Michigan. The state is home to about 2.9 million acres of national forest lands.
But a map provided by the department indicated a northern section of the Manistee National Forest and a ribbon of land stretching across the Huron National Forest would be affected. A large chunk in the western Upper Peninsula, in the vicinity of Ottawa National Forest, and several smaller areas in the eastern Upper Peninsula are included.
The memo follows President Donald Trump’s March 1 executive order calling on Rollins to find ways to expand timber production by easing environmental reviews and simplifying federal permits in defiance of “heavy-handed Federal policies” that “have prevented full utilization of these resources” and made the United States “reliant on foreign producers.”
Rollins said the move will reduce wildfire risk, improve fish and wildlife habitats, and support rural economies.
“Healthy forests require work, and right now, we’re facing a national forest emergency. We have an abundance of timber at high risk of wildfires in our National Forests,” Rollins said in a statement released Friday. “I am proud to follow the bold leadership of President Trump by empowering forest managers to reduce constraints and minimize the risks of fire, insects, and disease so that we can strengthen American timber industry and further enrich our forests with the resources they need to thrive.”
Most of the impacted federal forest land is in the western United States. Some of the most affected states appeared to be Colorado, Idaho, Arizona and California.
In a statement, a USDA spokesperson said: “The USDA Forest Service stands ready to fulfill the Secretary’s vision of productive and resilient national forests outlined in the memorandum. In alignment with the Secretary’s direction, we will streamline forest management efforts, reduce burdensome regulations, and grow partnerships to support economic growth and sustainability.”
In her memo, Rollins said the national forests are in crisis due to “uncharacteristically severe wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, invasive species and other stressors whose impacts have been compounded by too little active management.”
The emergency designation encompasses nearly 67 million acres of NFS lands rated as high or very high wildfire risk plus almost 79 million acres determined to be in “declining forest health,” at risk of increased tree mortality due to insects or disease or containing hazard trees that pose an imminent risk to public health, infrastructure and safety.
About 34 million acres are at risk of both wildfire and disease.
“Active management has long been at the core of Forest Service efforts to address the many challenges faced by the people and communities we serve, and we will leverage our expertise to support healthy forests, sustainable economies, and rural prosperity for generations to come,” the USDA spokesperson said.
Trump, in his executive order, said the U.S. has an abundance of timber resources that are more than adequate to meet the nation’s domestic timber production needs, but has been a net importer of lumber since 2016 due to overregulation.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a global trade database, the U.S. was the world’s biggest importer of wood products in 2023 at $24.8 billion. The U.S. also exported $9.83 billion worth of wood products, making it the world’s fourth biggest exporter.
But the National Association of Home Builders noted that Trump’s 10% baseline tariff across all countries that was issued Wednesday exempts Mexico and Canada, which the group said accounts for about 85% of all U.S. softwood lumber imports and nearly a quarter of the available supply in the U.S.
China is the world’s top exporter and second biggest importer of wood products.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
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