The Trump administration is about to propose an overhaul of how it manages nearly 5 million acres in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington.

Logging could triple in the Umatilla, Malheur and Wallowa-Whitman national forests, which comprise the U.S. Forest Service’s Blue Mountains region. The agency’s proposal would eliminate regulations that protect large trees and sensitive habitats. It would also boost timber sale goals from 106 million board feet to 364 million over a decade.

That’s raising hopes from some residents in a region where timber jobs have declined and lumber mills have closed. But others doubt the timber goals. And environmental groups have called the plan a raid on one of the wildest places in the United States.

The Blue Mountains region spans 10 counties in Oregon and Washington. It’s a critical resource to the regional economy, providing jobs through logging, ranching, tourism and recreation.

The Forest Service shared drafts of this recent proposal with various groups and governmental leaders, but it hasn’t officially published a copy to the national register. OPB obtained a copy that was updated this month.

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Mark Webb, executive director of the nonprofit Blue Mountains Forest Partners — which coordinates between environmental and timber interests to find common ground — doubts whether the forest service can reach the ambitious logging goals it sets forth in its draft proposal.

“In part because the Forest Service doesn’t have staff capacity to do a program like that,” he said. “And in part because the local mill infrastructure can’t handle that volume. And it’s unlikely that other mills would make the investments to tool up for that.”

Mills are struggling financially for a variety of reasons. High interest rates have slowed residential construction, decreasing demand for Oregon’s softwood lumber. Fuel and diesel prices have driven transportation costs sky-high. And some local mill owners say they struggle to find qualified workers.

But Baker County Commissioner Christina Witham hopes that increasing access to affordable timber from public lands might give mills a boost over the next 10 years.

“The infrastructure is coming,” she said. “The industry is looking for any way to get some of that infrastructure back.”

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Grant County’s last mill, Malheur Lumber, closed last year. Another company, Iron Triangle, purchased the mill with hopes to reopen it, but it hasn’t announced when that might happen.

The proposal comes as President Donald Trump pressures land agencies to ramp up logging and discard environmental policies. Environmental groups have responded with alarm.

“This isn’t a management plan, it’s a raid on one of the wildest places remaining in the United States,” said Lauren Anderson, climate forests program manager for Oregon Wild. “The Trump administration has been systematically dismantling protections for forests, water, wildlife, and public participation. This plan is that agenda in action. The Blue Mountains, and the public, deserve far better.”

The Forest Service’s proposal assumes the government will rescind what’s known as “the roadless rule.” That would allow roadbuilding in 722,000 acres of Blue Mountains forests where it has largely been banned for two decades.

The proposal also drops what’s known as “Eastside Screens,” a prohibition on logging large-diameter trees. Under this proposal, there would be no diameter limits.

“They want to remove protection for these incredible roadless areas that so many people hike and hunt and forage for mushrooms in,” said Jamie Dawson, conservation director with the nonprofit, Greater Hells Canyon Council. “It seems like they want a blank check to do what they want, and they want everyone to get out of the way and not ask any questions.”

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The Forest Service’s draft proposal also maps out alternative approaches to managing the Blue Mountains region. Though it prefers to increase logging and drop multiple forest protections, it could also keep the current plans as-is. Those were first adopted in the 1990s. Or it could strike a middle ground.

A Forest Service spokesperson told OPB the agency is waiting for final approval from leaders in Washington, D.C., before it officially publishes its proposal for the Blue Mountains region. The spokesman said the agency will give the public 90 days to provide input once it publishes its most recent draft.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/18/trump-blue-mountains-forests-logging/