For more than a year, the Trump administration has said it wants to harvest more timber from national forests. Now, officials are asking Congress to pay for the promise.
The administration’s budget request would more than quadruple Forest Service spending on timber preparation and sales in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, even as many other agency priorities face steep reductions or elimination.
The proposal calls for $175 million in the forest products account, up from $39 million this year. The administration didn’t ask for an increase a year ago, as it was settling in after taking the reins from the Biden administration.
Spending on forest products has been flat for years, said Nick Smith, a spokesperson for the American Forest Resource Council, which represents companies harvesting timber from federal lands.
