Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities

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

Bipartisan ‘Fix Our Forests Act’ Introduced to Combat Wildfire Crisis The new and bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act is comprehensive, bipartisan legislation aimed at restoring forest health, increasing resilience to catastrophic wildfires, and protecting communities. The bill is timely, with

Oregon is now beginning this year’s fire season, and southwest Oregon will likely be inundated with days and weeks of deadly smoke. It’s been happening most summers sometime from June until October since 1987. For the first 40 years of

Active forest management plays a crucial role in protecting clean water supplies, particularly in regions vulnerable to wildfires and water scarcity, such as Arizona and California. For decades, passive management across the west has contributed to unnaturally thick forests that

Editors note: Kyle Johnson is a forester with the Bureau of Land Management’s Missoula Field Office. Mr. Johnson is not affiliated with Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities but gave us permission to share his message. Just over a year ago, a