President Trump signed an executive order on March 1 directing the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to expedite timber harvesting on federal land. The order points out that the U.S. depends on foreign timber. In 2024, a quarter of the U.S. softwood used came from Canada. Trump continues to threaten a 25 percent tariff on Canadian lumber.
Before the arrival of Europeans, approximately half of the U.S. contained forests. Today, forests are around 70 percent of what they were before colonization. The Trump administration aims to shrink forests on federal land so the timber industry can profit. It’s log, baby, log because money is almighty when a corrupt billionaire is president.
The U.S. Forest Service oversees 193 million acres of national forest and public lands, including 36.6 million acres of wilderness. In Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s playbook for the first 180 days of Trump’s second term, contains a section about Forest Service reform. Project 2025 calls for increasing timber sales “to change the behavior of wildfire because there would be less biomass.” That is far right speak for mass deforestation on public lands in the guise of wildfire prevention.
Deforestation unleashes vast amounts of carbon dioxide that trees capture. Most of the carbon is released immediately. The logging industry releases around 723 million tons of carbon, equivalent to burning over 3.7 billion pounds of coal. That is up to 10 times the emissions caused by wildfire and insect damage. Logging decreases U.S. forests’ ability to capture carbon by more than one-third.
One-third of U.S. forests are federal. Trump’s directive to increase logging will increase wildfire risk. Forests that are logged heavily burn quickly. In other words, the Trump administration is lying to the American people. Sadly, this is par for the course.
The New U.S. Forest Service Head: A Logging Industry Insider
Trump named Tom Schultz, a timber lobbyist, to lead the U.S. Forest Service. He is the third director in the agency’s 120-year-old history to come from outside. He has spent his entire career in forest management. He led the Idaho Department of Lands, whose purpose is “to provide professional assistance to the citizens of Idaho to use, protect, and sustain their natural resources.”
He also led the Idaho Forest Group, one of the largest lumber producers in the nation. The company’s mission is to “enhance the lives and livelihoods of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities in which we operate by providing the earth’s best renewable building products.”
An article for Circle of Blue describes him as “no ordinary faceless bureaucrat and definitely not a member of MAGA’s fictional deep state.” However, he did accept a job with an administration with all of Umberto Eco’s 14 features of fascism. We are not even three months into his second term. As the old saying goes, when you lie down with dogs, you end up with fleas. And MAGA fleas are hard to shake.
“The timber industry is jumping for joy with this nomination. Let’s be clear: Tom Schultz is no outsider – he is the consummate logging industry insider. He’s not going to turn over a new leaf with this role but will continue to serve the interests of that industry as the head of the Forest Service,” said Anna Medema, Associate Director of Legislative and Administrative Advocacy for Forests and Public Lands, Sierra Club.
A Crossroads for America’s Natural Landscapes
In a pivotal moment for the future of America’s natural landscapes, the appointment of Tom Schultz as head of the U.S. Forest Service symbolizes a profound shift in the agency’s mission. With his roots deeply intertwined in the logging industry and his career marked by advancing timber interests, Schultz’s leadership signifies a departure from the conservation-first ethic many have championed.
The threats posed by this administration’s policies echo through the timbers of our nation’s forests, resonating with environmental concerns and sparking widespread debate. As we stand at this crossroads, the American public must remain vigilant, demanding transparency and accountability to protect the very essence of our public lands.
