Forest Service

On Tuesday, the USDA announced that the Forest Service is investing $200 million in 58 projects through the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program.

Last month, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule by opening a public comment period.

On Tuesday, Oregon Representative Andrea Salinas and ten other members of the House Ag Committee sent a letter to President Trump highlighting the harm they say the Administration has done to the U.S. Forest Service.

The country’s top land managers testified before U.S. senators last week to defend sweeping budget cuts for the nation’s public lands and a plan to sell 3.3 million acres managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management so communities can build housing.   T...

Several Senate Democrats say they are concerned that federal staffing cuts could impact firefighting efforts this summer.  Senators from Oregon and Washington say some firefighters and support staff are gone from the Forest Service.  Oregon’...

Thousands of workers have reportedly accepted the Trump administration’s buyout offers at the USDA.  E & E News says employees who’ve seen the internal numbers at USDA say the count has reached 3,100 at the Forest Service, 1,200 at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and possibly up to 12,000 people through the entire agency.  If those numbers hold, ...

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Thursday the selection of Idaho’s Tom Schultz to serve as the 21st chief of the Forest Service.  Upon being sworn in, Schultz will replace Chief Randy Moore, who recently announced his retirement after serving the agency for over four decades.   “Tom i...

Senators from Oregon and Idaho are pushing for Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools Act before funding runs out.  States with timber on federal land depend on the program for funding schools and other projects that would have been paid for by timber harvests, which aren’t allowed on federal land.   “The S...

The USDA will boost wildlife habitat protection as the Biden administration enters its final months.  In a department memo this week, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack directed agencies to coordinate more closely on protecting lands across different types of ownership, including making wildlife habitat a high priority in various conservation programs.  Vilsack...

Saturday is National Public Lands Day, a fee free day at federally owned, day-use parks and public lands nationwide.   "National forests, national parks, any other public lands. wildlife refuges," said Alice Cohen of the U.S. Forest S...