California – On April 3, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a sweeping emergency memorandum authorizing logging on 112.6 million acres of national forest land — nearly 60% of the nation’s total — citing “uncharacteristically severe wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, invasive species, and other stressors.” The order, signed by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, affects all 18 of California’s national forests, including Los Padres, Angeles, and San Bernardino National Forests, and opens vast stretches of Southern California’s wilderness to timber harvesting.
Although the memo claims the Forest Service will “work with State and local partners and federally recognized Tribes,” it also authorizes unilateral emergency action without requiring local cooperation. Notably absent from the memo is any acknowledgment of climate change as a factor in worsening wildfire seasons, despite overwhelming scientific consensus.
The move has sparked alarm among conservationists. According to Forest Keeper, a nonprofit focused on protecting national forests, heavy logging could worsen wildfire risk rather than reduce it. “Logged sites are filled with dried-out debris and higher winds that are far more flammable than older, mature forests,” the group stated. Mature forests, they argue, store more moisture, stabilize soil, and naturally slow wind speeds—factors critical for wildfire mitigation…