Is logging allowed in national forests?

Just because a forest is on federal land doesn’t mean it is protected from logging. In fact, logging and selling of wood is built into the missions of two federal agencies, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). That means logging is a persistent threat to many forests and trees that should be protected.

Both the Forest Service and BLM facilitate timber sales under similar principles of “multiple uses”, which includes management of all available resources, and “sustained yield”, which means they are tasked with extracting resources in a way that allows for future extraction, rather than using up all of the resources. The two agencies are independent of one another; therefore, their management strategies vary, as well as the amount of land under their jurisdiction.

The U.S. Forest Service was established in 1905 with the goal of providing water and timber to the nation. Later, the mission was expanded by the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 to include balancing “multiple uses” such as wildlife and recreation in addition to wood and water. Under these directives, the Forest Service now manages 144.9 million acres of forest area across the United States. 

Congress authorized BLM to “dispose of forest materials” (aka authorize the chopping down of trees) through the Materials Act of 1947. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 establishes the agency’s “multiple-use mission.” The agency’s 37.6 million acres of forested land can be logged under these multiple-use guidelines.  

What kind of lands do our federal agencies manage?

• Forest Land: Land with at least 10% cover by live trees, as well as land that formerly had such tree cover and where new trees are expected to grow. “Timberland” is the term for forest land that actively produces or is capable of producing “crops” of wood for industrial use 
• Woodland: Land that has sparse tree cover, including 5% to 10% canopy cover as well as shrubs. While timber harvesting could occur theoretically on woodland, it cannot produce the same volume of timber. 
• Grasslands: Lands that are also managed by the Forest Service but are dominated by grasses. Usually they do not get enough rain to support a forest. In the United States, we often refer to them as “prairies.” 
• The BLM also manages wetlands, mountains, arctic tundra and deserts. 
• Some grasslands, deserts and tundra are also “Rangelands,” which are lands suitable for grazing or “browsing” by wildlife.

The map below shows federal forest and woodland. Forest Service and BLM land is largely concentrated in the west. 

Moving toward prioritizing conservation over logging

While wood-based resources are widely used and convenient, alternatives should be considered and exhausted before logging, especially in old-growth and mature forests. Though products like paper and lumber are heavily used across the world,  they can be produced from recycled paper,  recycled and reclaimed wood products, and non-wood fibers (such as bamboo). Additionally, alternative sources, like landfills full of construction waste, could be mined for resources. 

In the face of parallel climate and biodiversity crises, these agencies should shift toward prioritizing the health of the environment. Forests are hotspots for biodiversity, providing important habitats to wildlife. They also retain carbon, thus keeping it out of the atmosphere and our climate. Old-growth forests in particular store a disproportionately large amount of carbon. Additionally, forests filter runoff and pollutants from waterways. 

For a society that values wildlife, open space, nature and clean water, it’s very clear that our forests are worth more standing.