Our agency was founded on the ideal of providing a sustainable flow of timber and water across the national forest reserves to the American public. Through time, Congress has continued to define our mission to include a wide variety of multiple uses including recreation, hunting, fishing, energy production and other uses important to communities across the country. Today, as we honor that mission, we face pressing new challenges including reducing wildfire risk and revitalizing rural economies. To address these challenges, recent guidance, including Executive Order 14225 (“Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production”), directs the Forest Service to expand timber production, streamline regulations and modernize forest management to support our national well-being.

Yesterday, we launched our National Active Forest Management Strategy as a crucial first step in meeting those requirements. The new strategy fulfills the direction from EO 14225 and provides a framework for building a stronger future for our national forests. It is built on input from our forests, regions and partners on the types of changes you need in order to meet the goals of our forest plans and best leverage our current skills and capacity. We need to make our processes more simple, responsive and integrated. The strategy outlines goals and priority actions that the agency will implement over the next three years to meet those needs.

This strategy also promotes active forest management and increased timber production. It aims to grow the annual timber volume offered by at least 25%, with a goal of selling 4 billion board feet annually by fiscal year 2028. We will do this by implementing our forest plans, investing in our forest management workforce, and growing our program responsibly and sustainably over time. Using this framework, we will work with regions and forests to develop tailored strategies that meet forest-specific timber goals in line with the national strategy.

I recognize this comes at a time when we are asking the agency to do more while we have lost critical positions. We are working to shift capacity across the agency and train personnel toward this task. As noted in the strategy, a working implementation guide, tiered to the strategy, will provide additional details for Forest Service practitioners. By modernizing processes, building capacity, streamlining compliance and strengthening partnerships, the agency aims to deliver greater value to the public, protect natural resources, and ensure America’s forests remain resilient and productive for present and future generations.

To learn more and get started on this important work, read the strategy and a convenient fact sheet.

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