Society of American Foresters and World Forestry Center Launch National Storytelling Initiative to Highlight Wood Innovation Investments (SAF)
The Society of American Foresters (SAF), in partnership with the World Forestry Center (WFC), is launching a new national storytelling initiative that will showcase how Wood Innovations Grant (WIG) projects are strengthening communities, supporting active forest management, and creating new opportunities for forest products across the United States. Supported through the U.S. Forest Service Wood Innovations Program, the initiative will work directly with Wood Innovations Grant recipients to capture and share stories demonstrating the real-world impact of these investments. Through videos, digital campaigns, photography, and museum exhibits, the project will connect the public, policymakers, investors, and industry leaders with examples of how innovation in the forest sector supports healthier forests, stronger rural economies, and sustainable markets. Watch video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRhV-mJCXfw
What the Life and Death of a Great Tree Teaches Us About Forest Management (Comstock)
It’s OK to touch the land. Indigenous Californians did it, and we can too. Here in Sacramento, we celebrate “Farm to Fork,” a connection to the land that touches our bellies. But when it comes to forestry, the enthusiasm fizzles. This brings us to the story of a magnificent tree that was killed by our lack of support for better outcomes. Its charred hulk lies sidehill on the mountain, waiting for the decades to return it to the soil. Before the 2021 Caldor Fire, the massive Jeffrey pine stood proud and tall in Sayles Canyon, whose chilly waters feed into the South Fork of the American River, flanking the Tahoe Basin.
Chief Schultz: Celebrating National Forest Products Week successes (USDA Forest Service)
National Forest Products Week, celebrated the third week of October, was established by Congress in 1960 to acknowledge the value and importance of forest products and their sustainable uses. As we celebrate, I want to share my deepest appreciation for your dedication to managing our forests and supporting the sustainable forest products industry. The forest products economy is strong, generating approximately $288 billion in annual economic output. Forest products make up roughly 4-5% of the total U.S. manufacturing Gross Domestic Product. The sector directly employs approximately 950,000 people. In fact, the forest products industry is also among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 45 states. You all delivered a successful forest management program in fiscal year 2026, selling 3.3 billion board feet, the highest volume sold from federal lands since 1997, and 103 million board feet above the annual target. These efforts will help move us toward implementing our forest plans to achieve forest health, fire mitigation and other land management objectives. This was a large team effort that included contributions from our districts, forests, regions,
Trump marks National Forest Products Week, cites highest Forest Service timber sales in decades (Lesprom)
The U.S. Forest Service has sold more than 3 billion board feet of timber this year, the highest volume in almost three decades, President Donald Trump said on Monday in a message for National Forest Products Week. The Forest Service also reached 116% of its annual reforestation goal, the highest level in 26 years, Trump said. He said two executive orders he signed last year to increase domestic timber supply and reduce reliance on imports had led to more than half a billion dollars in announced industry investments, and that his administration was rolling back environmental regulations on logging and paper manufacturing.
Forest Service Headquarters Move Blocked by California Judge: Who Really Runs the Agency (BlueRibbon Coalition)
The Forest Service can pick any skyline for its headquarters, but its real one is a courthouse in San Francisco. A federal judge there blocked the move to Salt Lake City, and BRC’s NEPA Jail Tracker shows how the Ninth Circuit has become the de facto manager of our forests while the Equal Access to Justice Act pays the plaintiffs’ lawyers when they win. Tell your members of Congress to support the FEES Act.
Trump 47 and Conservation: A Missed Opportunity (Amos’s Substack)
I have been struggling for two years with the irony of the Trump 47 Administrations seeming inability to harness our private sectors to achieve a successful and positive conservation portfolio, on the back of multiple federal agencies (Interior, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)) repeated failures for the past 30 years. I have been told by a Trump advisor that the inner circle does not believe conservation plays to the MAGA base. This is obtuse thinking and a serious political miscalculation. There is a salient difference between conservation as opposed to environmentalism. The former was launched by Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot at the dawn of Twentieth Century, and expanded and solidified by Nixon/Ford administrations in late 1960s and early 1970s. The keys to conservation success in the third decade of this century are the farm/ranch constituency, forest owners, and the declining hunt/fish constituency. This trilogy of constituencies represent a core of the MAGA vote.
Where are California’s dead trees going? A forest advocate turned detective to find out (LA Times)
Forest advocates suspect that trees killed in a wildfire in Sequoia National Forest are being turned into wood chips and burned to generate electricity, a process they say is dirtier than burning coal. To prove their point, a wildlife biologist began tailing trucks loaded with wood chips throughout Central California to see where they were headed. The wildlife biologist did make some discoveries, but not the kind she expected.
Wildfires cost Idahoans $47.3 million in 2026 (BSPR)
Idaho officials have tallied up what they hope will be the final wildfire suppression costs for 2026, tacking on a few million dollars more to the state credit card. Barring any last minute burns, Idaho will have spent more than $47 million this year tackling 227 wildfires on state lands. Nearly all of them were human caused. About 10,400 acres of state endowment land burned during 2026 – the second most incendiary season in the past four years. About $20 million of the total funds are expected to be reimbursed by the federal government or other agencies, leaving the state’s share at $27.5 million. But Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller said it could take more than three years to recover those funds.
Timber sale announced for 239 acres near Libby Dam (NBC Montana)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation have announced a timber sale covering approximately 239 acres near Libby Dam. The Hot Dam Timber Sale includes an estimated 8,165 tons of harvestable timber in Lincoln County. The sale was advertised Oct. 13, with bids scheduled to be opened Nov. 12.
Forest Service moves forward with old-growth logging project on Prince of Wales Island (KRBD)
The 15-year project is expected to produce 26.4 million board feet of timber from over 1,700 acres of old growth in the Tongass, both north and west of Thorne Bay. The Forest Service estimates it will provide over 100 jobs and generate up to $6.54 million in income for the timber industry. Prince of Wales is home to one of the last remaining mid-sized sawmills in the state, and it’s one of the biggest employers on the island.
Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service and State of Alabama renew commitment to shared stewardship of Alabama’s forests (USDA Forest Service)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service today, renewed their shared stewardship agreement with the State of Alabama, reinforcing a statewide partnership to improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk, support rural economies, and expand outdoor recreation access. The renewed agreement builds on the original 2021 memorandum of understanding and leverages new federal authorities to accelerate forest management, habitat restoration, and recreation improvements across public and private lands.
Salvaging burned timber is a race against the clock (The Nugget Newspaper)
After a wildfire, a landowner looking at scorched trees often feels pressure to act. Dead timber can still hold value, but that value can fade as the wood dries, cracks, and becomes vulnerable to insects and decay. The good news is that Oregon does not require a special state “salvage logging” permit for private landowners to harvest fire-damaged timber just because it burned. A Small Tract Forestland (STF) is privately owned forestland in Oregon enrolled in a special property tax program. Qualifying owners receive a reduced annual property tax in exchange for paying a severance tax when timber is harvested. The program is generally intended for owners of smaller forest properties who manage their land for long-term timber production.
Rep. Vasquez Demands Answers From Forest Service on Trail Maintenance and Wildfire Preparedness (Vasquez Press)
U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02), joined by 12 colleagues, sent a letter to U.S. Forest Service (USFS) leadership demanding answers on the agency’s efforts to maintain trails on public lands, which would ensure access to recreation and protect local communities from heightened fire risk. The letter follows up on an earlier letter raising concerns that USFS actions dramatically reduced the agency’s ability to adequately maintain public trails. That request followed a concerning report detailing a “trail maintenance crisis” with “impassable trails” and “unsafe bridges” due to staffing and budget cuts implemented by the Administration, leading to heightened wildfire risk.
Montana State lands $3 million NASA grant to study wildfire smoke with balloons and drones (Explore Big Sky)
Montana State University has received a $3 million NASA grant to lead a nationwide project that will use high-altitude balloons and drones to study wildfire smoke and other air pollutants. The project, called the Aerial Science, Collaboration, and Education Network for Discovery, or ASCEND, will bring together 40 undergraduate teams from community colleges and universities across the country, according to an MSU news service release. Teams will use equipment designed by students in MSU’s Balloon Outreach, Research, Exploration and Landscape Imaging System, or BOREALIS lab, to measure how pollutants are distributed at different heights above the ground.
WVU research examines how private forests support migratory birds (Morgantown News)
West Virginia University graduate researchers are studying how privately owned and managed forests in Greenbrier County may provide important habitat for migratory songbirds. Ava Craven, Samantha Grimes and Audrey Longenecker, graduate researchers in wildlife and fisheries resources at WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, spent portions of their field season entering the forest around 4 a.m. to begin collecting data before birds became active near sunrise. The research is focused on understanding how songbirds use early successional forests, particularly those on private timberlands, and whether existing population models accurately reflect bird activity in those areas.
Northern Colorado nursery prepares to grow millions of seedlings to help forests recover from wildfires (CBS Colorado)
A newly remodeled and expanded nursery in Northern Colorado is preparing to grow millions of tree seedlings that could help reforest areas damaged by wildfires and support conservation efforts across the state. The Colorado State Forest Service recently completed renovations at its nursery in northwest Fort Collins, where the first seedlings are already growing inside the facility’s greenhouses. “What we’re doing here is a major part of the reforestation pipeline,” said Laura Miller, nursery manager for the Colorado State Forest Service. The project was made possible by $10.3 million in state funding and $5.3 million from the U.S. Forest Service.
Idaho Forest Group Celebrates 100 Years and Hosts Community Viewing of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree (Big Country News)
Idaho Forest Group (IFG) invites the community to a special celebration marking 100 years of forestry and manufacturing excellence, while offering a rare opportunity to view the 2026 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree before it begins its journey from Idaho to Washington, D.C. The event represents a unique opportunity to celebrate two significant milestones for Idaho: the 100th anniversary of the Lewiston mill and the selection of an Idaho-grown tree to serve as the nation’s Christmas Tree.
Barge Forest Products expanding operations in Noxubee County (MS Press)
Lumber manufacturer Barge Forest Products is expanding its sawmill operations in Macon. The project represents a corporate investment of more than $8.3 million. Barge Forest Products specializes in high-quality southern yellow pine lumber production, particularly longer timber lengths used for construction. The company is constructing a new facility to house a new production line that will feature optimized edging and twin horizontal resaw capabilities. The upgrades are designed to improve efficiency and significantly increase the sawmill’s annual production capacity. The Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance through a loan guarantee program and the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive, or MFLEX, program. Noxubee County is assisting with the project, as well.
Rhinelander School District showcases outdoor classroom during Forest Products Week (WJFW)
Northern Wisconsin is covered in forests that have been here for centuries. As part of Forest Products Week, one local school district held a tour of its outdoor classroom. Monday afternoon, a group of adults took a tour of Rhinelander’s CAVOC as part of Forest Products Week. On the roughly 90-minute tour, the group had a chance to see where kids have the opportunity to learn more about nature. “CAVOC — the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom — is our school forest for the school district of Rhinelander and also a community hub here in Rhinelander,” said Mike Cheslock, Community Education and School Forest Manager for the School District of Rhinelander.
Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities
Supporting active, multiple-use management of federal forest lands
