The investigative arm of Congress is digging for information about the Forest Service’s timber program, part of an ongoing review that now coincides with the Trump administration’s push to sharply expand harvesting on national forests.
The Government Accountability Office is asking for details about the timber program’s strengths and weaknesses and why the Forest Service may be selling less timber than officials intend, according to the letter GAO sent to people it is questioning.
This inquiry is the second of a two-part review, the first phase of which generated a report in December, the GAO said. The watchdog office said multiple members of Congress requested the inquiry, which was also directed through annual appropriations legislation.
In a series of questions, GAO researchers asked whether the Forest Service’s timber targets have been too high or too low, citing the agency’s inability to meet the goals from fiscal 2014 to 2023.
