On March 1, Donald Trump signed an executive order entitled “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production,” calling on federal land managers to “fully exploit our domestic timber supply,” and instructing agencies to bypass existing federal laws and regulations that protect stately forests, rural communities, clean water, imperiled species, recreation, and the climate.
Trump argues that dramatically increasing domestic timber production is necessary to end a reliance on imported lumber. This is a lie. The United States is the world’s largest producer of timber and timber products. The ports in Oregon are full of raw logs being exported across the Pacific.
The overexploitation of America’s forests has placed numerous species on the brink of extinction, dramatically increased wildfire risk, extensively spread noxious weeds, devastated commercial fisheries, created a sprawling, unmaintained road network, triggered deadly landslides, and exacerbated runaway climate change. This order is an affront to the billions of dollars spent by federal, state, and local entities to restore and repair the damage the timber industry has wrought in this country.
Make no mistake, this executive order has a sole intention: to ramp up logging of our remaining mature and old-growth forests. Consequently, ongoing restoration work to abate wildfire risks, restore degraded ecosystems, recover imperiled species, and protect communities will wither.
This reckless directive will be met with staunch opposition by Cascadia Wildlands and our conservation partners. In addition, we will double down on efforts to confront any corresponding advances to liquidate our treasured public forests under this administration. Communities across Cascadia cannot and will not tolerate such an ill-conceived backslide.
Enraged? Let the White House know how you feel.
For a wild Cascadia,
— Cascadia Wildlands