California’s 20 Million acres of forest now open to logging under Trump order

California – California’s national forests are facing sweeping changes after a new executive order from former President Donald Trump directed a nationwide 25% increase in timber production — a move that could open up more than 20 million acres of forestland in California alone to logging.

The April 5 order, issued by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins under an “Emergency Situation Determination,” empowers the U.S. Forest Service to fast-track timber harvesting across 112.5 million acres of national forestland nationwide. While not targeted specifically at California, the order is expected to impact all 18 national forests in the state — more than in any other — including iconic landscapes like the Angeles, Sequoia, and Klamath.

The move follows years of tension between Trump and California leaders over forest management and wildfire policy. In 2018, Trump blamed devastating wildfires on poor state land practices and infamously suggested the state “rake” its forest floors — despite the fact that 57% of California’s forestland is federally controlled.

“This executive order essentially feeds our national forests into the woodchipper,” said Randi Spivak, public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It will result in clearcuts, polluted streams, and extinct species.”

Environmental advocates warn the plan sidesteps environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), removes permitting safeguards, and fast-tracks logging without adequate public input. Jeff Kuyper of Los Padres ForestWatch said up to 80% of the 1.75-million-acre Los Padres National Forest could be impacted.

“This is a thinly veiled attempt to bypass environmental laws and ramp up logging on our public lands,” Kuyper said.

In a memo to Forest Service officials, acting associate chief Chris French instructed all nine regions to craft five-year plans to hit the 25% timber volume increase. Officials have 30 days to produce a national strategy, and each region must create a two-year “shelf stock” of timber projects ready to launch.

Supporters argue the order will reduce wildfire risk, boost rural economies, and lessen reliance on foreign timber. “Healthy forests require work,” Rollins said. “We’re facing a full-blown wildfire and forest health crisis.”

But scientists caution that large-scale logging is not a cure-all. While overgrown vegetation does increase wildfire risk, experts say thinning forests improperly can make fires worse.

For now, California’s forests sit at the center of a growing battle over how best to manage public lands — and who gets to decide.