Budget bill, changes to NEPA intended to drastically increase timber production and limit public input
BREAKING NEWS: Budget bill requiring increase in timber production and long-term timber contracts passes the House, headed to Trump’s desk
Just as this email was about to be sent out, we learned that the One Big Beautiful Bill has just passed the House and is headed to the President’s desk. President Trump will sign his domestic policy bill at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 4th.
While the provision introduced by Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would have required the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to dispose of millions of acres of public lands was ultimately removed, there are several concerning provisions affecting the Forest Service that did make it into the final version. Among those are a provision requiring the Forest Service to increase timber production by at least 250 million board feet more than the previous year for each fiscal year from 2026 to 2034, and a separate provision requiring USFS to enter into no fewer than 40 long-term contracts lasting 20 years or more. These long-term contracts will tie up vast areas of National Forest lands in logging contracts for decades, severely limiting forest and district staff’s ability to respond to climate, ecological, or community needs with adaptive, holistic planning.
Bark staff will continue to dig into the bill’s text and will share any additional relevant information soon.
Read the full text of the bill here
Secretary Rollins rescinds Roadless Rule and releases new NEPA regulations governing USFS
Last week, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced her intent to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, a policy that had restricted road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvesting on approximately 58.5 million acres of National Forest System lands. The rule aimed to protect the ecological integrity of inventoried roadless areas.
This decision was expected in the wake of the Trump administration’s rescission of NEPA’s implementing regulations earlier this year, which prompted federal agencies to develop their own NEPA regulations. As part of that process, agencies, including the US Forest Service, underwent a rulemaking process that sought to repeal anything that is not statutorily required, such as the Roadless Rule.
The USDA released its new NEPA regulations, which will govern the USFS and which were created with minimal public and Tribal input, on June 30th. Read the pre-publication version of these regulations here. In line with policy shifts in response to EO 14225, which called for the Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production, the newly proposed regulations greatly reduce the agency’s requirements for public notice, scoping, and comment. But unlike the Timber EO, these new rules apply to all national forest lands. The agency will accept comments on these regulations through July 30th via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.
Reminder: Stone Creek comments due July 17th!
Submit your public comments here
The comment period for the Stone Creek Vegetation Management project is now open! Be sure to submit your comments through the portal linked above by 11:59 pm on July 17th. You can read all about Bark’s current take on the project on our website.
Bark’s Forest Watch Program Manager, Jordan Latter, will also be discussing the project and our findings at the next Forest Watch Committee meeting on July 15th at 6 pm at the Bark office (351 NE 18th Ave, PDX). A virtual option is also available. Email Jordan to let him know you’re coming and/or to receive a link for the virtual option.
Webinar on federal attacks on our forests on July 9th
The provision to sell off public lands in Oregon may have been removed from the budget bill that just passed, but the fight to protect our forests—and our public lands more broadly—is not over. Join our partners in the PNW Forest Climate Alliance for a 3-part webinar series examining the extreme ways federal forests are under attack by the Trump administration, and what it means for efforts to preserve a healthy environment and livable climate.
The first webinar is Wednesday, July 9th at 7pm, and will dive deep on the Fix Our Forests Act and Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Budget Bill” and how we can resist them. Register here.