U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced a bold $200 million investment to implement the USDA Forest Service’s National Active Forest Management Strategy, a key initiative to increase timber harvest, improve forest health and productivity, reduce wildfire risk, and support rural prosperity in forest communities.

The strategy supports President Trump’s Executive Order: Immediate Expansion of Timber Production by streamlining burdensome regulations, leveraging emergency authorities, and expediting project approvals—ensuring faster access to critical timber resources. Increasing the use of long-term contracts to carry out these projects, the strategy envisions a more stable supply of wood products, healthier forests, and stronger rural economies.

This work to increase domestic timber harvests implements Secretary Rollins’ memorandum to the Forest Service to take immediate action in support. In response, the Forest Service has committed to increasing timber harvest on national forests by 25%, with an overall goal of 4 billion board feet harvested annually by fiscal year 2028.

Using tools like Good Neighbor Authority, this investment will support efforts to work across jurisdictions and property lines to improve forest health and grow economies in communities nationwide. This investment also focuses on innovative wood products like cross-laminated timber, which due to its strength in comparison to steel, is used in commercial building construction. Similarly, active management often creates byproducts with a low conventional wood market value, but are still useful in wood energy, pellets, and other biomass applications.

These investments have direct impacts on communities and businesses in the wood products sector, supporting jobs in timber harvest, at lumber mills, as well as in innovative wood products and energy sectors. These landmark investments secure a strong domestic timber supply, fueling rural industries, stabilizing markets, and driving long-term economic prosperity.

Source: USDA