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Oregon timber workers say roadless-forest repeal won’t fix shrinking industry
As the Trump administration prepares to repeal federal protections covering about 44 million acres, Oregon loggers point to labor shortages, high costs and decades of mill closures as bigger obstacles. Environmental advocates warn that new roads could increase wildfire risks and renew conflicts over public forests.
COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. — The Trump administration’s expected repeal of the federal Roadless Rule could make millions of acres of national forest eligible for more logging and road construction. But Oregon timber workers say the change alone is unlikely to revive an industry struggling with rising costs, too few workers and a shrinking network of mills.
The 2001 rule generally restricts new roads and most logging on about 44 million acres of undeveloped national forests. The administration says lifting those limits would give the U.S. Forest Service more flexibility to thin forests and reduce wildfire hazards. A formal repeal is expected early next year.
Sean Smith, chief executive of family-owned Starfire Lumber in Cottage Grove, supports reversing the rule, saying access to nearby forests could provide mills with a steadier supply of local timber. He also says that accumulated vegetation in parts of the Willamette National Forest can increase the danger of severe fires.
But the rule is not Smith’s most immediate concern. Diesel fuel, inflation and the cost of equipment and replacement parts are putting pressure on mill operations, he said. “This is not a ‘gee I sure want more cheap timber volume,’” Smith said. “This is a guy who lives here and is tired of seeing these beautiful places burn up.”
The industry has struggled to carry out forest work even in areas where roads already exist. Lawsuits, administrative delays and a shortage of workers have hampered projects, while timber sales on federal land have fallen nearly 90% since the 1990s, according to the figures cited by industry participants.
Jeff Brink, a second-generation logger near Eugene, said it is difficult to recruit drivers when logging work competes with other jobs offering similar pay. His company has stayed afloat through restoration work on private land and salvage sales in areas affected by wildfire, but he warned that high fuel costs and labor shortages could push smaller operators out.
About 400 mills across the broader Northwest have closed since the 1990s, eliminating an estimated 35,000 jobs, according to a Forest Service report cited in the story. Seven Oregon mills have closed since 2024. Industry experts estimate that repealing the Roadless Rule could increase federal timber sales by 5% to 10% — a potential boost, but one that Brink said would not quickly rebuild the industry’s lost capacity.
Environmental groups have said they plan to sue if the administration formally repeals the rule. Timothy Ingalsbee, a retired Forest Service firefighter who now leads a firefighter safety and advocacy group, argues that building roads into undeveloped forests could increase human-caused fires and that the policy is not primarily about protecting firefighters.
The debate also revives tensions from the Northwest’s 1990s “Timber Wars,” when logging of old-growth forests prompted protests and blockades. Ingalsbee said he fears new development could bring back those conflicts. Smith, meanwhile, said the frequent swings in federal policy from one administration to the next make it difficult for businesses and communities to plan.
The Roadless Rule was created by executive action and was never codified by Congress. That has left its future vulnerable to changing administrations, even as rural communities face uncertainty over jobs, forest management and wildfire risks.