Senators strike bipartisan permitting deal (Latitude)
A bipartisan group of senators have clinched a deal aimed at speeding up the federal permitting process for major energy projects, including renewables, fossil fuels and transmission lines. The package announced today by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) marked a major breakthrough after months of negotiations that came in fits and starts. But whether Congress will pass the bill anytime soon remains unclear, especially given President Donald Trump’s shifting position on advancing federal permits for solar and wind projects, according to Sen. Whitehouse, speaking at a press conference Wednesday. The “question of returning to regular order” by the Trump administration is unresolved, he said, referring to policies by the Interior Department and Pentagon that have effectively blocked renewable energy permits from advancing and put more than 100 gigawatts of renewable energy projects at risk, analysts estimated earlier this year.
The Permitting Grand Bargain Is Here (Green Tape Substack)
For more than a year, the Senate has been deliberating over a sweeping permitting reform package – often in secret, occasionally on the brink of collapse, and replete with the high drama that tends to accompany any major bipartisan negotiation. Briefings, walk-throughs, and the good old DC rumor mill have started to surface details over the last few weeks, but finally, today, the whole text is out. The bill, dubbed the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, is a whopper – at more than 400 pages, it makes the 170-page Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (EPRA) look piddling in comparison. It represents a tremendous effort by members and staff on the Hill and in the White House, with particular credit to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) and Environment and Public Works (EPW) committees. So – what’s in it?
Rep. Crane’s North Rim Restoration Act Unanimously Clears Senate Committee (Crane Press)
This morning, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources advanced the North Rim Restoration Act of 2025 by unanimous consent. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), now awaits consideration by the full Senate before it can be signed into law. Following the devastating Dragon Bravo Fire at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Rep. Crane introduced H.R. 5729 on October 10, 2025, to accelerate recovery efforts. After the bill received a hearing and markup, the House unanimously passed the measure on March 16, 2026. If enacted, the legislation would grant the National Park Service emergency contracting authority to cut through red tape and avoid unnecessary delays across all fire-related work. Eligible activities include forest management, rebuilding, and infrastructure improvements. Rep. Crane drafted the bill in coordination with park staff, small business owners, concessioners, and local elected officials. He has stayed in close contact with leaders on the ground and recently hosted Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum at the North Rim. With today’s progress in the Senate, Rep. Crane continues to push for the bill’s final passage.
Bruce Westerman Questions Agriculture Director About Forestry Research (Forbes YouTube)
Watch: During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing before the House recess, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) asked Kyle Cunningham, State Forester and Director at the Arkansas Department of Agriculture in the Forestry Division, about the forest product industry.
Washington’s historic wildfire season leaves a new flooding threat in its wake (K5)
After a historic wildfire season in Washington, crews are surveying the landscape left behind by the flames, looking for areas where heavy rain could trigger flooding and debris flows this winter. The Burned Area Emergency Response, or BAER, team has been assessing burn scars across Chelan County, including steep slopes above Lake Chelan. The team’s findings will help local officials understand where the greatest risks remain and prepare for potential impacts. The Little Giant Fire burned more than 172,000 acres across Chelan County and the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, including areas that had previously been burned. For residents and communities below steep slopes, the danger does not necessarily end when the flames are gone.
Record 2026 Oregon wildfire season burned 2.1M acres, cost $1.4B (Statesman Journal)
Two lightning storms ignited a multitude of wildfires in July that spread so fast they fueled a record-breaking number of acres burned in Oregon — almost entirely east of the Cascades. Wildfires blackened 2.1 million acres across Oregon in 2026 and cost an estimated record $1.4 billion to suppress. Two firefighters were killed in action. Fires burned about 217 homes and structures, required thousands to evacuate and brought poor air quality to some areas for three weeks.
Utah’s 2026 wildfire season by the numbers (HJ News)
Utah entered 2026 with heightened concerns about the wildfire season, given the record-low snowpack. Those concerns materialized as wildfires burned across Utah, affecting nearly every corner of the state. The 2026 wildfire season might be better described as a wildfire year. For example, on Jan. 22, the Beaver Canyon Fire started near Strawberry Reservoir in Wasatch County. At that time of year, the area should have been under several feet of snow. This is how 2026 stacked up against recent fire history in Utah: More than half a million acres have burned in Utah in 2026, making it the state’s most severe fire season since 2007, when 629,212 acres burned. The next-highest total in recent history was 438,983 acres in 2018 (see Utah Wildfires by Acres 2012-2026 chart below). This summer, Utah experienced several megafires, three of which made the list of the top 10 Utah wildfires since 2002 (see Largest Wildfires in Utah from 2002-2026 table below).
Loggers starting on timber sale near Baker City OR watershed (Baker City Herald)
Loggers are scheduled to start cutting and hauling trees this week in a timber sale near the Baker City Watershed that’s part of a Forest Service project intended to reduce the risk of a wildfire spreading into the watershed, the city’s source of drinking water. The sale, which is outside the watershed, includes about 920 acres and stretches from Highway 7 near Mason Dam north to the Elk Creek area and includes units near Union Creek and California Gulch. The estimated timber volume is 5.9 million board-feet, said Jeremy Aujero, Whitman District ranger.
Baker County’s official comments endorse Alternative 2 in forest plan revision, rescinding Roadless Rule, changing Travel Management regulations (Baker City Herald)
Baker County is endorsing alternative 2 in the proposed new management strategy for the three national forests in Northeastern Oregon. The U.S. Forest Service in June released a draft environmental impact statement for the revised management plans for the Wallowa-Whitman, Umatilla and Malheur national forests, kicking off a 90-day comment period that ends Wednesday, Sept. 30. The agency’s goal is to approve a final plan in early 2027.
A River Runs Through It Act offers hope for the Blackfoot Valley (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
For more than two decades, people in Seeley Lake, Ovando and Lincoln have worked through one of the hardest questions in Montana: How do we care for public lands in a way that respects the many different people who depend on them? There has never been just one answer. These lands support timber jobs and rural economies. They provide places to hunt, fish, hike, ride horses, mountain bike, snowmobile and use off-highway vehicles. They hold some of the wildest country left in the Lower 48 and support some of the most iconic wildlife. And they surround communities that live with the realities of wildfire and forest management every year. That is why the proposal now called the A River Runs Through It Act matters. Earlier this month, Rep. Ryan Zinke announced legislation based on long-running, locally developed efforts that grew from negotiation among Montanans who often began with very different ideas about public lands.
A Costly Promise Without a Plan: Upthegrove Scrambles to Fund Washington DNR’s Forest Set-Asides (Forests at Work Substack)
Washington’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages state-owned forests held in trust for specific public beneficiaries. Timber sales from those lands support public school construction, counties, and local services, while DNR also retains a portion of the revenue to manage the lands. When Dave Upthegrove assumed the role of Washington Commissioner of Public Lands in 2025, he fulfilled a campaign promise by taking the controversial step of pausing timber sales across 77,000 acres of DNR forestland. Since then, DNR has faced significant budget pressures that Upthegrove attributes in part to weak timber markets and rising operating costs, alongside the loss of potential revenue from the paused acres. His budget challenges were on full display during a press conference on September 24, 2026, where he announced that he was reducing the total acreage of set-asides to 55,000, and would be forced to move ahead with harvest plans for those acres by 2030 unless the Legislature gives DNR additional funding and revenue authority to address the agency’s budget shortfalls.
PEER sues U.S. Forest Service to Release Non-Disclosure Agreements (PEER)
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) today filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, seeking an immediate release of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that the agency has required employees to sign. The suit, filed under the Freedom of Information Act, comes after the Forest Service missed its statutory deadline to respond to a PEER records request and has continued to withhold the documents. The lawsuit follows a troubling track record at the Forest Service on the use of NDAs. In October 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report finding that the Forest Service NDA policies and forms failed to include the legally required anti-gag provisions mandated under the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. The Forest Service concurred with the OIG’s findings and committed to reviewing and updating its NDAs policies and reissuing NDAs for current employees—with a target completion date of October 2025. Whether the Forest Service is honoring its commitment remains unknown to the public.
Forest Resilience Bonds Strengthen Communities Before Wildfire Strikes (World Resources Institute)
When Alecia Weisman drove through a severe burn scar left by California’s Dixie Fire, which burned nearly 1 million acres in 2021, the scale of the destruction was difficult to comprehend. “Every single tree is dead,” said Weisman, Watershed Science Director at the South Yuba River Citizens League. “It’s total forest loss.” Without the resources to restore landscapes after major fires, she said, there is a risk that some forests will never fully recover. Historically, low-intensity fire was common in North American forests, ignited either naturally or by Indigenous People to manage lands. Such fire — usually carried out during cooler, wetter periods — helped prevent the buildup of dry, flammable vegetation. It also encouraged new growth and maintained healthy landscapes. But those traditions were steadily replaced by a practice of suppressing fire, which has contributed to overgrown forests primed for the kind of severe wildfires seen today. Rising temperatures and prolonged droughts are also adding to the severity.
Federal judge blocks ‘Free Land Holders’ from fencing off national forest (Courthouse News Service)
A federal judge on Wednesday granted summary judgment to the United States and blocked members of the Free Land Holders Committee from putting up fences in parts of the San Juan National Forest near Mancos, Colorado. “The United States’ properly supported facts, which are considered undisputed, demonstrate that the United States owns the Hallar Deed Area as a matter of law,” Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico wrote in a 12-page opinion. The U.S. sued Patrick Pipkin, Bryan Hammon and other unknown members of the Free Land Holder Committee in 2024, claiming the group improperly erected a mileslong fence around the Hallar Deed Area of the San Juan National Forest near the town of Mancos in southwest Colorado. The area is named for Fred Hallar, who sold the land to the U.S. in 1927.
‘Wood basket of the Southeast’: Alabama Forestry Commission helping private landowners become good stewards (1819 News)
The Alabama Forestry Commission’s (AFC) mission is to protect, manage and educate. Part of that mission is assisting private landowners. Forest health program manager Drew Metzler spoke in a webinar for Alabama’s Black Belt on working lands, wildlife and conservation heritage. While the forestry commission is best known for wildfire protection, Metzler said it does much more. The Commission manages more than 18,000 acres across 13 state forests. Forestry is an estimated $36 billion industry in Alabama and supports over 100,000 jobs in the state. That’s one reason officials say protecting forests matters. Metzler conducts both aerial and ground-level forest health surveys, searching for issues such as pine beetles and emerald ash borer. “I like to call our state the wood basket of the southeast,” Metzler said. “You know, not only do we produce a wide variety and large quantity of forest products, but we also have other natural resources. We’re incredibly diverse as far as wildlife species, but also plant species.”
Wood manufacturer picks Anderson Co. for first SC plant, 217 jobs as state’s timber industry flags (Post and Courier)
A national wood products maker will take over an abandoned manufacturing building in Anderson County and start a new plant that will employ 217. The new operation — all told a more than $215 million investment into the old Belton Industries fabric maker building in Honea Path — will be Adeptus USA’s first South Carolina location. Plans are to come online in the second quarter of next year, according to a Sept. 30 S.C. Department of Commerce news release.
CRI urges Delaware to consider wood as part of ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy (Delaware Live)
As Delaware looks for ways to produce more of its own electricity and reduce dependence on energy imported from outside the state, the Caesar Rodney Institute is urging policymakers to consider a resource already growing across roughly a quarter of Delaware: wood. The free-market policy organization says sustainably harvested wood and other forms of biomass should be considered alongside solar, offshore wind, nuclear power and battery storage as Delaware develops what Gov. Matt Meyer has described as an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.
Ga. officials, Delta pitch pine-based jet fuel as timber market struggles (WRDW)
With paper mills shutting down across Georgia, forestry advocates warn family tree farmers face growing pressure to turn open forests into subdivisions. Less than a year ago, the West Fraser mill shut down. On Wednesday, state agricultural officials and Delta Air Lines pitched a possible alternative: turning Georgia pine into sustainable jet fuel. Wood chips won’t power a flight tonight. Industry experts say commercial production is still years away. Corporations, universities and growers formed an alliance Wednesday chasing that breakthrough, though timber growers say their biggest worry is whether family tree farms can afford to wait. State leaders and corporate giants launched the coalition in response to sharp declines in the timber market. In two years, Georgia’s paper mills dropped from 11 to eight, erasing demand for eight million tons of timber, the state’s top crop.
US scientists develop catalyst to turn woody biomass into jet fuel components (Interesting Engineering)
A Rowan University research team is investigating how woody biomass could replace petroleum-derived components in aviation fuel, helping reduce the United States’ dependence on fossil fuels for flight. The project focuses on lignin, a natural polymer found in woody biomass, and a catalyst designed to convert selected molecules into aromatic compounds suitable for jet fuel. Jun Hee Jang, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering, received a $199,999 National Science Foundation grant to investigate the process and assess its economic potential.
SC: Manufactured charcoal not a forest product under forestry law (Tribune)
The Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of a criminal case against a man arrested for transporting 475 sacks of manufactured wood charcoal without a permit in Oriental Mindoro, ruling that charcoal is not considered a forest product under the Revised Forestry Code. The case involved Rudy Villagen, who was charged before the Regional Trial Court in Pinamalayan after authorities intercepted the charcoal, valued at about P71,250, in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro, on 8 October 2020. Villagen was accused of violating Section 77 of Presidential Decree 705, or the Revised Forestry Code, for allegedly possessing and transporting forest products without the required authority.
Watershed Education Summit connects students with science & nature (Mountain Democrat)
High school students in bright orange vests and hard hats carried clipboards, buckets and ice cube trays into the forest to collect specimens from the Jones Fork Creek, near Wench Creek campground Sept. 17. One of many exercises carried out during the four-day Watershed Educational Summit. Around 72 students from El Dorado, Ponderosa, Union Mine, Forest Hill and Golden Sierra high schools and Pacific Crest Academy learned watershed-monitoring techniques from teachers and representatives from Eldorado National Forest, El Dorado & Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation Districts and other industry professionals.
Idaho Capitol Christmas Tree swapped due to disease (BSPR)
The Capitol Christmas Tree, which will be harvested in Idaho this year, has been swapped out because it came down with needlecast disease. A 76-foot tall Engelmann Spruce will replace the 80-foot Grand Fir originally chosen as the “People’s Tree.” Zachary Peterson, a staff officer for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, says the yellow needles at the base of the grand fir caused them to pivot to the alternate conifer. “We have plans to go with our backup tree which is an Engelmann Spruce, 76-feet tall, very similar in size, pretty similar in shape, on the Lochsa-Powell Ranger District,” Peterson said. The spruce will be harvested in late October and packaged up for a whistle-stop tour throughout Idaho before its journey to the East Coast. The schedule will be out within the week. “We’re the third Idaho forest provided tree, and this will be the third Engelmann Spruce that’s come from Idaho,” Peterson said.