Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities

The tragic wildfires in Los Angeles have reignited national discussions about forest management, wildland firefighting, smoke pollution, and water.  Although these urban fires are not traditional forest fires, they underscore the critical need for effective vegetation management and robust water

Forests and grasslands are dynamic ecosystems that rely on natural disturbances, such as fire and storms, to maintain their health and biodiversity. However, decades of reduced timber harvesting and fire suppression have left many forests in need of active management

The scars left by severe wildfires across Oregon’s forests are not only a reminder of nature’s power but also of the critical need for immediate and decisive action to prevent future disasters. Dead and dying trees—referred to as snags—pose severe

Don Healy graduated from Oregon State University in Forest Management in 1968. The three years following graduation were spent in the U.S. Army as it was the Vietnam War Era and it was better to volunteer than to be drafted.

Rural voters turned out in record numbers in the 2024 election and were a decisive factor in the presidential race.  Rural voters sent a strong message: Our voices can no longer be ignored in Washington, DC. For years, our timber

In a significant move towards improving forest management and reducing wildfire risks, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 8790, the Fix Our Forests Act. Sponsored by Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), the legislation received

Sydney Gleason served as an environmental journalism intern for Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities for the summer of 2024. Part 1 and Part 2 of her series on amending the Northwest Forest Plan was published in the Capital Press. HFHC’s environmental

Two-and-a-half years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, you may be surprised to learn manufactured wood products constitute over 50% of the trade between the United States and Russia in 2024. As American sawmills in the West close their doors, Russian

The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comment through September 20 on its proposed National Old Growth Amendment that will affect how millions of acres of national forests will be managed. Conserving older forests is critical. But we’re concerned the

Writing recently on X (formerly Twitter), Frontier Institute President and CEO Kendall Cotton observed that Montana’s Horse Gulch Fire is burning in a portion of Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest that was slated for landscape-scale thinning and controlled burns, that