US Launches $200 Million Plan to Boost Logging in National Forests

The National Active Forest Management Strategy aims to increase timber harvest by 25 percent, reduce wildfire risk, and support rural jobs.

A large fir tree heads to the forest floor after being cut by a logger in the Umpqua National Forest near Oakridge, Ore., in a file photo. Don Ryan/AP Photo

A $200 million plan to expand logging in national forests was announced on May 29 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a bid to grow timber supply, improve forest health, and bolster rural economies.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement that the money will launch the Forest Service’s National Active Forest Management Strategy, which will raise annual timber harvests on federal land by 25 percent, targeting 4 billion board feet by the 2028 fiscal year.