Southern California’s wildfire-ravaged national forests soon could fall under the ax, literally. An emergency order issued by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Friday, April 4, directs federal personnel to increase timber quotas by 25% on nearly 113 million acres of national forests across the nation. A map accompanying the order with areas targeted by the declaration shows large swaths of California, including northern woodlands and what appear to be the Angeles, San Bernardino, Los Padres and Cleveland national forests. … National forests were originally created beginning in 1891 as reserves to protect watersheds and forests for drinking water and timber supply, after heavy overlogging threatened both. Under the updated 1976 National Forest Management Act, the forest service’s multi-pronged mission is to protect watersheds, timber stands and healthy wildlife populations.

Other logging and natural resource news:

• AP News: Trump administration rolls back forest protections in bid to ramp up logging
• San Francisco Chronicle: Trump administration issues emergency order to increase logging in California forests
• E&E News by Politico: House launches deliberations on Energy, Army Corps spending