March 24, 2025 HFHC News Round Up
Ringside: Maximizing Home Protection Against Wildfires (CA Globe)
Over the decades California’s forest fires and wildfires have wiped out thousands of homes. In 2018 the horrific Camp Fire in Northern California’s Butte County destroyed 19,000 buildings, most of them homes. The town of Paradise was almost completely incinerated. And in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area, the devastating Oakland Hills Fire in 1991 consumed nearly 3,000 homes. Prior to the most recent Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles where an estimated 12,000 homes were lost, the region has periodically coped with out-of-control wildfires destroying hundreds of homes. Fire is a natural part of California’s ecosystems, but the catastrophic wildfires we have seen in recent years are a consequence of mismanagement. Reducing the density of our forests to historically normal levels has universal benefits – healthier trees and wildlife, a revitalized timber industry, and smaller, more easily contained fires. We summarize the steps needed for Californians to save their forests and protect their communities in the policy paper Modern Forest Management.
Kiley talks forest management, fire safety at forum (Mountain Democrat)
Congressman Kevin Kiley praised the Amador-El Dorado Forest Forum during his virtual appearance March 19 — a change made “due to potential safety concerns,” forum officials shared. Kiley, who represents California’s 3rd District and serves on the Subcommittee of Water Resources and Environment, said he was tremendously grateful for the work of the forum as far as “education, sharing best practices, the scholarships you are awarding.” “I think that this is exactly the thing we need to be doing in communities across California,” the congressman shared. “We’ve seen this much-needed paradigm shift in recent years in California where for far too long we’ve let our forests just get out of control and we’ve got 20 million overgrown acres and we saw the devastating consequences,” Kiled continued. “In our area with these devastating wildfires … destroyed communities.”
Doug MacCleery – Part 1 – What To Do With The USFS…(Evergreen Magazine)
Doug MacCleery and I have been friends and writing colleagues for more than 30 years. We last published one of Doug’s essays on our website in January 2021. Western Wildfires: How did we get into this mess and how do we get out of it? This essay first appeared on the Dovetail Partners website in January 2020. Doug was on Dovetail’s advisory board from 2006 to 2018. Dovetail, based in Minneapolis, is essentially a think tank. It was co-founded by Jim Bowyer, a retired PhD University of Minnesota professor, we met at a Forest Products Research Society conference in Vancouver, B.C. in 1991. Jim subsequently added Evergreen Magazine to the reading list for his freshmen forestry students.
Timber expansion executive order could lead to more logging in the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest (WXPR)
Called the “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production”, President Trump’s Executive Order calls for reducing the impact of what he calls “heavy-handed Federal policies” so that the U.S. can increase timber production and reduce wildfire risk. The order directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to look at how to increase timber harvest and cut down on delivery time and supply uncertainty on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land. This includes taking a look at how things like the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act can impact the process. Henry Schienebeck is the Executive Director of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association. He doesn’t know that the order will have a huge impact in this region, because it’s already one of the top timber producing regions within the Forest Service, but he does believe there’s room for improvement.
Vermont lumber mill faces uncertain future amid Trump’s tariffs (Associated Press)
Watch: Trevor Allard, co-owner and Vice President of Allard Lumber Company in Brattleboro, Vermont, says the timing and uncertainty around tariffs on lumber has made doing business at the 50-year-old lumber mill increasingly difficult.
Trump invokes wartime authority to bolster critical minerals (Energywire)
President Donald Trump on Thursday in a far-reaching executive order invoked emergency powers to ramp up the nation’s ability to produce critical minerals and reduce reliance on foreign imports from China. The president’s executive order taps into a host of authorities, including the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, to bolster production of critical minerals, as well as uranium, copper, potash, gold and other materials deemed necessary by the National Energy Dominance Council. The order lays out staggered timelines for agencies to identify domestic mineral projects to be prioritized through streamlined permitting and financing, including loans, capital and technical assistance. It also calls on the departments of Defense and Energy to work together to accelerate domestic mineral production and enter into “extended use leases” for the installation of commercial mineral production projects. (Subscription Required)
Burgum taps Wyoming ‘cowboy lawyer’ as acting second in command (Greenwire)
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has elevated Wyoming lawyer Karen Budd-Falen to acting deputy secretary of the sprawling department. The order signed by Burgum on Thursday puts an official in the critical No. 2 leadership role as President Donald Trump’s nominee for position, Kate Macgregor, waits for movement on the Senate confirmation process. Budd-Falen, an alum of the Reagan and first Trump administrations, previously worked for the conservative Mountain States Legal Foundation. She has a long record of locking horns with federal agencies in land and regulatory disputes and has advanced legal arguments on federal deference to local laws and practices. A self-described “cowboy lawyer” in Wyoming, Budd-Falen has reportedly taken a position in the administration as associate deputy secretary. (Subscription Required)
Daines thanks Trump, Burgum amid permanent wildland firefighter raise (NBC Montana)
Sen. Steve Daines is praising the federal government for making a pay raise for wildland firefighters permanent. Daines thanked President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for carrying out legislation on a permanent raise pushed by Daines. The pay increase was included in the recently passed continuing resolution. Daines advocated for a successful 2021 effort to temporarily increase pay.
International Day of Forests arrives amid concerns over Trump’s sweeping logging agenda (KUOW)
Friday marks the International Day of Forests, as designated by the United Nations. While the world celebrates the many ways trees and forests help sustain human and animal life, deforestation poses a significant threat to these vital ecosystems, both in the United States and abroad. Billions of people across the world rely directly on trees for food and resources, according to the U.N., including in 85% of major cities where forested watersheds provide their freshwater. But, the organization warns that 10 million hectares of forest are intentionally destroyed annually. Another 70 million hectares are impacted by fires, which experts say are being made worse by the ongoing climate crisis.
Building homes on federal land could lower costs — if cities are held in check (The Hill)
The Departments of the Interior and Housing and Urban Development are exploring making some federal land available for homebuilding to alleviate a stubborn housing shortage estimated at over 20 million homes. Their success will depend not only on how quickly and broadly the plan is implemented, but on making sure any newly opened land is not bogged down by the local land use regulations that make housing so scarce and expensive in the first place. The current home shortage is primarily due to excessively restrictive local land-use rules that favor relatively expensive homes on large lots. But particularly in western states, land for homebuilding is limited by federal holdings near fast-growing metropolitan areas like Las Vegas, Phoenix and many others.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek wants to turn state-owned land into more housing units (OPB)
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek wants to make it easier for housing developers to identify and build on the more than 3,500 acres of suitable-for-development land the state owns or manages. The governor revealed an online map on Thursday aimed at making the state inventory of land more transparent. All told, more than 1.7 million acres are under Oregon state control, but about 360 parcels on the nearly 4,000 acres have been identified for possible housing development. Kotek has staked her political reputation on making housing more affordable in the state. Much of her administration’s energy has been poured into what the governor once declared a “man-made” and “humanitarian disaster.” Kotek has promised a significant increase in housing production goals; her goal is to move from the historical 22,000 units to 36,000 new housing units per year, an ease in permitting and a push to put hundreds more people into housing. The state has struggled to meet those goals.
2,400-acre wildfire in Sam Houston National Forest caused by prescribed burn (Houston Chronicle)
A preliminary investigation revealed the cause of the large wildfire along Pauline Road in Montgomery and San Jacinto Counties can be attributed to a prescribed burn, officials announced at a press conference Thursday afternoon. Officials said they are investigating the circumstances behind the prescribed burn, and have not yet determined if criminal charges will be ordered. They did not specify who was behind the burn, but said it was planned along with city officials. “We can attribute this to a prescribed burn,” said Josh Mizrany, an assistant with the forestry service. “There is an investigation surrounding the circumstances of that prescribed burn. If there’s any criminal charges that come out of that investigation, we’ll refer that to the San Jacinto County District Attorney’s Office.”
Opinion: WA must keep commitment to fire prevention on forestland (Seattle Times)
We live in communities surrounded by forests — they define our landscapes, our livelihoods and our safety. We have witnessed both the devastation of extreme wildfires, and the incredible progress made in wildfire prevention and forest health. This legislative session, we urge our elected representatives to uphold their promise and allocate $125 million in the biennial budget to sustain this vital work. In 2021, Washington passed House Bill 1168, committing $500 million over eight years in wildfire response, forest health and community resilience. This historic investment has already transformed landscapes and lives, enabling forest thinning, controlled burning, workforce training and better protection of homes — steps that reduce catastrophic wildfire risk while revitalizing forest ecosystems.
Forests that work for people and wildlife (U.S. Fish & Wildlife)
Outside the major metropolitan areas of the Northeast — Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. — you might meet more trees than people. While it’s the most densely populated region in the United States, the Northeast is also about 40% forested. Most trees in this part of the country are in privately owned “working” forests. No, they don’t have 9-to-5 jobs; these forests are carefully managed to provide a renewable supply of products we depend on, such as paper, lumber, cordwood, and maple syrup. Private forest owners also manage their lands to support wildlife. They know forests aren’t just a bunch of trees — they’re natural systems, home to thousands of birds, mammals, fish, and insects. A holistic approach to forest management that benefits soil, water, fish and wildlife, and proactively addresses threats like wildfire, is better for sustaining trees, forest products, and jobs in the forestry sector. Research shows private forest owners today grow 43% more wood than they remove – the result of management practices that support healthy, functioning systems. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the forest products industry in the United States generates $288 billion annually and provides hundreds of thousands of jobs.
How U.S. Lumber Tariffs Are Reshaping the Timber Market (Freres Engineered Wood)
Trump’s tariffs, and particularly those between the U.S. and Mexico and Canada, are a stark contrast to the free trade agreements that have dominated U.S. trade policy for the last few decades. There are many justifications for tariffs including national security, political leverage, and economic reasons. U.S. lumber tariffs, for instance, have been framed as both a way to protect domestic manufacturers and a tool for negotiating fairer trade terms. Economic support for tariffs can range from trade balance adjustment, protecting domestic industries, or correcting market distortions. The argument for tariffs with Mexico and Canada have thus far been for national security interests, and namely securing our borders and reducing the import of illicit drugs like fentanyl into our country. It’s likely that the tariffs related to border security will be short-lived, as our northern and southern borders tighten security to reduce the political pressure and financial harm from punitive tariffs.
Yakym sponsors bipartisan bill to reinforce law for wood product supply chains (Ripon Advance)
U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN) on March 18 sponsored a bipartisan bill aimed at improving the process for wood importers to more efficiently move their harvested timber products through America’s ports. “This legislation is a common-sense solution to ensure legally harvested wood imports are not unnecessarily stranded at our ports due to bureaucratic inefficiencies,” Rep. Yakym said. “Streamlining this process will protect American businesses, reduce construction delays, and save the wood industry millions while still upholding the integrity of the Lacey Act.”
Albrecht Discusses Challenges Facing Timber Industry Before National Audience (MotherLode)
Timber industry leader, and local business owner, Mike Albrecht recently had a chance to explain the challenges facing the nation’s logging industry. Albrecht was interviewed by TV host Mike Rowe for an episode of his national podcast that was released last week. Rowe has won an Emmy for his work in television and is also a best-selling author. Albrecht tells Clarke Broadcasting that the interview happened at Rowe’s studio in Santa Monica on February 24. The program manager of the show had contacted Albrecht because he is the President of the American Loggers Council.
Eco-friendly detergent made from wood and corn shows promise (PhysOrg)
From laundry detergent to dishwasher tablets, cleaning products are an indispensable part of life. Yet the chemicals that make these products so effective can be difficult to break down or could even trigger ecosystem-altering algal blooms. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Langmuir have addressed those challenges with an environmentally compatible detergent made of tiny wood fibers and corn protein that removes stains on clothes and dishes just as well as commercial products.
**Miss a day? A 20-day archive of the HFHC News Round Up is available here.**
