September 11, 2026 HFHC News Round Up
Federal government extends public comment period for proposed Roadless Rule rescission (KRBD)
The deadline to submit public comment on a proposed plan to repeal the Roadless Rule has been extended. The Roadless Rule is a 2001 environmental conservation law that protects 45 million acres of national forests across the country from logging, including over nine million acres of the Tongass. Last month, the United States Department of Agriculture filed a plan to repeal it. The agency said in a press release that the rule is a barrier to wildfire risk reduction work. The rescission would increase logging opportunities, aligning with the Trump administration’s goals to increase natural resource extraction in Alaska. That set off a 30-day federally mandated public comment period, allowing the public to submit feedback on the plan, which will be used in developing final rulings and environmental analyses. The public comment period was initially scheduled to end Sept. 21. That deadline has now been pushed to Oct. 6.
Nine Land Bills Advance Through House Subcommittee Hearing (Legis1)
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands advanced nine bills on September 2, spanning everything from river designations to experimental forest transfers. The measures include protections for Route 66’s centennial celebration, efforts to release Montana wilderness study areas from federal restrictions, and proposals to transfer federal forest management responsibilities to states. The Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act would release approximately 104,000 acres in three wilderness study areas in Montana. Some of those wilderness study area recommendations date back more than 30 years. The Route 66 National Historic Trail Designation Act would designate the roughly 2,400-mile Route 66 corridor as a national historic trail. Communities across the country are celebrating Route 66’s centennial anniversary in 2026.
A Toxic Cloud Is Quietly Floating Over Americans’ Heads. We Don’t Know How Bad It’s Going to Get. (Popular Mechanics)
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 53,233 fires have burned nationwide as of early September, with more than 8.3 million acres burned in total. In Canada, that number clocks in at an incredible 11.1 million acres, sending dangerous toxins and particulate matter (PM) into the air we breathe. Mid-July saw the worst of it, with 120 million Americans impacted by wildfire smoke as air quality dipped into “unhealthy” and sometimes “hazardous” zones. A toxic cloud of wildfire smoke even settled over New Jersey’s Met Life Stadium as it hosted the World Cup Final. With so many people now regularly impacted by wildfire smoke, scientists are racing to understand its short-term and long-term impacts on human health. So far, the results are not encouraging. Wildfire pollution is measured using concentrations of PM2.5, or particulate matter 2.5 millimeters in diameter or less. While other types of particulate matter exist, such as PM10, the smaller the particles, the more likely they’ll embed on walls deeper within the lungs, causing tissue damage, lung inflammation, and even premature death.
Bennet, Hickenlooper, Wyden, Padilla, Schiff Sound the Alarm on Lack of Firefighting Resources During the 2026 Wildfire Season (Bennet Press)
Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, led Senators John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to express serious concerns about the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) preparedness and ability to adequately respond to the 2026 fire season. Colorado has faced one of the most severe wildfire seasons to date, with over 240,000 acres burned and loss of wildland firefighting personnel…Between July 18 and September 4, 2026, the national firefighting force was at preparedness level 5 with federal resources fully committed to combating wildland fires across the country. So far this year, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and U.S. Wildland Fire Service has dedicated over $6 billion to fire suppression budget authority, spending nearly the entire fire suppression budget as of September 2, 2026. The West is expected to remain in peak fire season with hot, dry, and windy conditions for at least the next two months, raising concerns that federal wildfire resources and suppression funds could run out entirely.
Roundtable warns dense forests and fewer mills are fueling Oregon’s record fire seasons (KMTR)
After more than 2.5 million acres burned across Oregon this fire season, forestry and agriculture experts gathered in Eugene Thursday to discuss ways to prevent another record-breaking year. The Healthy Forests Roundtable at the Veterans Memorial Association building focused on what participants described as a need to shift more attention toward wildfire prevention and forest management. One of the main solutions discussed was thinning forests to reduce the amount of fuel available to burn. Participants said removing excess trees and vegetation can make forests more resilient when fires start. But they also pointed to a challenge facing that work: Oregon has fewer mills available to process timber removed from forests.
Oregon lawmakers approve more than $120 million to cover cost of 2026 wildfires (Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregon lawmakers approved nearly $123 million to help cover the costs of this year’s wildfire season, sending money to two state agencies responsible for fighting wildfires. The Oregon Legislature’s Joint Emergency Board agreed to allocate $108 million to the Oregon Department of Forestry and $15 million to the Department of the State Fire Marshal at a morning meeting Thursday. The 20-member board has the authority to allocate funding when the full Legislature isn’t in session. As of late August, wildfires had scorched across 2.5 million acres and cost the state $236.2 million. Those costs are expected to reach $350 million by the end of the wildfire season — putting 2026 on track to surpass the state’s previous $318 million record when wildfires scorched 1.9 million acres in 2024. The forestry department has been able to pay for nearly $79 million of those costs with federal recovery funding, grants and other contributions. With the emergency board’s approval Thursday, the agency will also borrow $150 million from the Oregon State Treasury through three loans over the next three months to maintain solvency through the end of the year.
American Loggers Council’s Scott Dane sounds alarm on diesel prices amid threat to timber industry (Fox Business)
American Loggers Council Executive Director Scott Dane joins Stuart Varney to discuss how soaring diesel prices are impacting the timber industry. He warns that filling a logging truck now costs $1,350 as fuel expenses squeeze profits. High fuel costs are squeezing American loggers as the national average diesel price nears six dollars. American Loggers Council Executive Director Scott Dane tells Stuart Varney that filling a single truck now costs $1,350, driving fuel expenses up to 45 percent of total operating costs. Dane urges the administration to suspend the fuel tax to provide immediate relief for the industry.
Why the devastating Boundary Waters wildfires are critical for a healthy Minnesota forest (MPR News)
The Forest Service this week declared that the wildfires that burned more than 100 square miles of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area this summer are finally fully contained, more than two months after they first ignited. What those intense and fast moving blazes left behind are full of seeming contradictions. On one hand, the blazes were incredibly destructive. They scorched more than 71,000 acres of forest, killing centuries-old trees. They harmed businesses, disrupted lives, and filled the air with lung-damaging smoke. They left behind a blackened landscape in some areas. But those fires also cleaned out the forest, and set the stage for renewal and rebirth. They helped create a diverse patchwork of different forest types and ages across the wilderness, which should prove more resilient against future fires.
Corey Lewellen named permanent Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest supervisor (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
Corey Lewellen has been named the new forest supervisor for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. Lewellen was the acting forest supervisor since June 1, 2025, and officially began his permanent role on Aug. 23. A graduate of Oregon State University, Lewellen started his natural resources career in 1999 with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. He joined the U.S. Forest Service in 2001 on the Willamette National Forest in Oregon before moving to the White River National Forest in Colorado. He later served as district ranger for the Townsend Ranger District on the Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest and then as district ranger for the Bozeman Ranger District on the Custer Gallatin National Forest. Over the course of his 25-year career, Lewellen has held a range of fire-related positions, including firefighter type 1/squad boss on type 2 initial attack crews, aerial observer and resource advisor. For the past 13 years, he has also served as an agency administrator.
Forest Service receiving nearly $65M in Helene recovery funds to restore national forests (WLOS)
The North Carolina Forest Service is receiving nearly $65 million in Helene recovery funds after signing an agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture. The agreement, which was described as a 10-Year Good Neighbor Agreement, was announced at a Sept. 10 news conference at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center ahead of the upcoming N.C. Mountain State Fair. The Fair begins on Sept. 11. “This is a significant investment in western North Carolina and in helping protect homes, property and timber resources in the region from increased fire risk of downed trees and debris that remains on public and private lands following Hurricane Helene,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said.
Trillion Tree Initiative is so 2020 (Greg Walcher)
In l989 the U.S. Forest Service published a 13-page booklet (Program Aid No. 1442) titled, “Trees are the answer… to America’s growing environmental concerns.” The Society of American Foresters turned it into a bumper sticker and by the end of the 1990s cars across the country proclaimed, “Trees are the answer.” During that same period the global warming movement escalated, heightening worldwide concern about CO2, so the link between the two was inevitable. Human activity moves CO2 into the atmosphere – trees absorb it. A 9-year-old German student named Felix Finkbeiner started Plant-for-the-Planet, proposing that he and other kids plant a million trees in their own countries. He came to the UN, which had proposed a “billion trees program,” and Finkbeiner’s group turned it into the “Trillion Trees Initiative.” The group now has 30 employees, affiliated groups in 8 countries, and has planted 100 million trees. An affiliated program on the Yucatan Peninsula has planted 17 billion.
Notes from the Square: Shuttered sawmill in Henry County expected to get new life (Cardinal News)
Gov. Abigail Spanberger confirmed Thursday that the Oklahoma-based Twain Lumber Co. plans to reopen the shuttered Teal-Jones sawmill in Henry County with a $7.4 million investment. Plans for the site were first reported in March, when Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said that it would be acquired by Mississippi-based Twain Capital with the help of a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan. Once operational, the facility is expected to create 74 new jobs, and the company is expected to purchase more than $51.2 million of Virginia-grown forest products over the next three years, the governor’s office said. “Since 2024, this facility has sat empty, representing an untapped opportunity to grow our forestry industry and create new opportunities for Virginians in the region. Today, I am proud to welcome Twain Lumber Company to Henry County and thank them for the significant commitment they’re making to our Commonwealth,” Spanberger said in a statement Thursday. Twain Lumber plans to purchase new production machinery and upgrade equipment, which is expected to enable the sawmill to increase its operational capacity from 80 million board feet annually to 108 million board feet. This increased capacity will make it one of the largest Southern yellow pine sawmills in Virginia, the governor’s office said.
From the Woods to the Mill: Celebrating the Drivers Who Keep the Industry Moving (FRA)
As we approach National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, September 13–19, we recognize the professionals whose work is often behind the scenes but essential to the forest products industry. Admittedly, as I reflect on my college forestry coursework, the critical role of trucking received minimal attention. The “real” work seemed to revolve around prescribing the proper silviculture, marketing and selling timber, harvesting systems for getting wood to the landing, and processing at the mill. The critical connection between the landing and the mill seemed almost inevitable: trucks simply showed up and delivered the wood. Experience and perspective have made clear just how essential that role is. Our industry could not function without truck drivers. Wood grows where it grows, and it must be transported to a mill for processing. That simple reality makes trucking an indispensable link in the forest products supply chain.
Logging expo in Green Bay draws industry from across the region (WBAY)
The Great Lakes Logging and Heavy Equipment Expo opened Thursday at the Resch Expo, drawing loggers and equipment dealers from across the region. The event runs Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The $20 admission is good for entry on both days. Kids under 18 get in free. Logging is the second-largest industry in Wisconsin, employing about 56,000 people, according to Sparky Enstrom of Crosstrac Equipment, a dealer and board member of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association. Enstrom said that number grows to nearly 100,000 total employees when northern Michigan is included. Wisconsin is the number one producer of paper and wood manufacturing in the country, according to the Wisconsin County Forests Association.
America’s Tallest Timber Student Housing Tops Out in Columbus (Wood Central)
The tallest mass-timber student housing building in the United States has topped out, with Harbor Bay Ventures celebrating the final panel alongside its crews at The Ohio State University on Tuesday. That is according to DLR Group, the design firm on the 13-storey INTRO Columbus, which reached 48 metres ten weeks ahead of a November target. “Every beam we put in place on this project brings us one step closer to students moving in next summer,” Mark Bell said. The Harbor Bay Ventures chief executive marked the milestone a year to the day after work started at High Street and Ninth Avenue. The tower will carry 493 beds across 186 units when residents move in for the 2027-28 academic year.
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