Idaho governor gives executive order to ramp up timber harvests on national forests within the state

A new executive order this month from Idaho Gov. Brad Little has been issued to ramp up timber harvests on national forests throughout the state.

“For too long, millions of acres of national forests in Idaho have remained totally untouched, creating a tinderbox of fuel that threatens communities, air quality and the environment,” Little said in a press release. 

The executive order, titled “Make Forests Healthy Again Act,” directs the Idaho Department of Lands to expand its partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to reduce fire risks on federal forests in Idaho.

The directive mirrors a recent executive order from President Donald Trump to ramp up timber production in the U.S. 

“We want to make these landscapes more resistant and resilient to catastrophic fire, make them healthier, and make them more enjoyable for the public,” said Dustin Miller, the director of IDL. 

The Good Neighbor Authority, an agreement that has been in place for 10 years, allows IDL to work with the U.S. Forest Service to expedite timber sales on the national forest lands and restoration work in key areas, he said.

Though the exact number is difficult to determine, it’s estimated that thousands of U.S. Forest Service workers across the country have been fired since President Trump took office.

In Idaho, 6 million acres of land in the national forests have been designated as severely at risk for catastrophic wildfire due to insects and tree diseases, Miller said. 

Trees hit hart by insects and disease were removed from the Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area near Boise, Idaho, in 2019. (Credit: Idaho Department of Lands)

The executive order from Trump and the memorandum from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins expanded the use of emergency authorities to make way for local agencies to take quicker action, according to the press release. 

The red tape, gridlock and litigation on federal lands often makes it hard to get the work done, Miller said. 

But these types of orders make it harder for the public to participate in decision making about how  plans for national lands should be handled, said Jeff Juel, the forest policy director for Friends of the Clearwater, an environmental nonprofit based in Moscow. 

“They expect people to hear the cry of emergency and allow the shortcutting of the normal public dialogue that is designed to make decisions and actually consider values such as clean water, beautiful forests and the habitat for wildlife and fish,” Juel said. 

Two women hug an old growth Western red cedar in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. (Credit: Friends of the Clearwater)

The sales from harvesting timber on the national forests help pay for the restoration work on the ground, Miller said.

“It’s good for the industry, it’s good for the economy and it’s good for the health of our wildlands and our wild places,” Miller said. 

The plan focuses on short-term profits at the expense of future livelihoods, said Juel, for both wildlife and the people who rely on the forest economy.

“ A big part of the playbook of those financially benefiting from national forests, that is those that profit from logging them, is to paint the picture of forests, indeed, of nature itself is something to be feared,” he said. 

An executive order from President Trump last month allows for faster approvals for national forestry projects under the Endangered Species Act

IDL staff have already met with Kristen Sleeper, the deputy undersecretary of natural resources and environment. Several projects are already underway, Miller said.

“The ramp up to do this is going to be methodical,” Miller said. “We’re not just going to start cutting everywhere.”

The U.S. Forest Service is ultimately still the manager of the federal forests, said Miller. 

“But they rely heavily on us through the Good Neighbor Authority to get a lot of this work done,” he added.

The trend of longer fire seasons and more extreme fire behavior is likely to continue, and many of the communities close to the national forests are at risk, Miller said.

“Those are the places where we really want to do some work,” he said. 

The U.S. Forest Service did not respond to a request for comment.