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43-472: Supporters of the law contend that this will reduce wildfire risk by thinning overstocked stands, clearing away vegetation and trees to create shaded fuel breaks, providing funding and guidance to reduce or eliminate hazardous fuels in National Forests , improving forest fire fighting, and researching new methods to halt destructive insects. To proponents, much of the basis for the law revolves around

86-481: A buildup in fuels and ladder fuels, as well as climate change. Supporters believe this act may be able to simplify the NEPA process for projects which are meant to reduce the susceptibility of National forests to forest fires; reducing the risk of conflagrations that endanger human lives, destroy valuable forests, and can reduce the quality of habitat for late seral wildlife species. The act is specific, that projects under

129-436: A location for transport . It may include skidding , on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars . In forestry , the term logging is sometimes used narrowly to describe the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest , usually a sawmill or a lumber yard . In common usage, however, the term may cover a range of forestry or silviculture activities. Logging

172-585: A safety principle. In British Columbia, Canada, the BC Forest Safety Council was created in September 2004 as a not-for-profit society dedicated to promoting safety in the forest sector. It works with employers, workers, contractors, and government agencies to implement fundamental changes necessary to make it safer to earn a living in forestry. The risks experienced in logging operations can be somewhat reduced, where conditions permit, by

215-452: A set of wheels over ten feet tall, initially pulled by oxen. As the logging industry expanded, the 1880s saw the introduction of mechanized equipment like railroads and steam-powered machinery, marking the beginning of the railroad logging era. Logs were moved more efficiently by railroads built into remote forest areas, often supported by additional methods like high-wheel loaders , tractors and log flumes . The largest high-wheel loader,

258-672: A variety of environmental conservation groups." This statement ignores the opposition to HFI by conservation groups such as the Sierra Club , the Natural Resources Defense Council , The Wilderness Society , and the John Muir Project . Supporters include the Society of American Foresters , local fire protection agencies, and a number of hunting and fishing advocacy groups. In March 2006, it

301-696: Is a classification of protected and managed federal lands that are largely forest and woodland areas. They are owned collectively by the American people through the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service , a division of the United States Department of Agriculture . The U.S. Forest Service is also a forestry research organization which provides financial assistance to state and local forestry industry. There are 154 national forests in

344-504: Is often far from professional emergency treatment. Traditionally, the cry of "Timber!" developed as a warning alerting fellow workers in an area that a tree is being felled, so they should be alert to avoid being struck. The term " widowmaker " for timber, typically a limb or branch that is no longer attached to a tree, but is still in the canopy either wedged in a crotch, tangled in other limbs, or miraculously balanced on another limb demonstrates another emphasis on situational awareness as

387-441: Is significant occupational injury risk involved in logging. Logging can take many formats. Clearcutting (or "block cutting") is not necessarily considered a type of logging but a harvesting or silviculture method. Cutting trees with the highest value and leaving those with lower value, often diseased or malformed trees, is referred to as high grading . It is sometimes called selective logging, and confused with selection cutting ,

430-464: Is the beginning of a supply chain that provides raw material for many products societies worldwide use for housing , construction , energy , and consumer paper products. Logging systems are also used to manage forests , reduce the risk of wildfires , and restore ecosystem functions, though their efficiency for these purposes has been challenged. Logging frequently has negative impacts. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal , including

473-547: Is the process of felling, delimbing, bucking, and sorting ( pulpwood , sawlog, etc.) at the stump area, leaving limbs and tops in the forest. Mechanical harvesters fell the tree, delimb, and buck it, and place the resulting logs in bunks to be brought to the landing by a skidder or forwarder . This method is routinely available for trees up to 900 mm (35 in) in diameter. Logging methods have changed over time, driven by advancements in transporting timber from remote areas to markets. These shifts fall into three main eras:

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516-507: Is to allow the public to have input on projects, influence the topics of analysis for projects, and develop alternatives for projects. Collaborative groups may allow for more input and influence on projects from the public than the normal NEPA process, despite the fact that projects under the act go through an expedited NEPA process. The cost of fighting major wildfires caused by years of neglect have become entirely too expensive for USFS budgetary expenses. American Insurance companies have raised

559-495: The National Park Service , extraction of natural resources from national forests is permitted, and in many cases encouraged. Forest products are the resources removed and harvested from national forests. They may be for commercial or personal use such as “lumber, paper, and firewood as well as 'special forest products' such as medicinal herbs, fungi, edible fruits and nuts, and other natural products”. However,

602-441: The grasslands , shrublands , and forest understory are grazed by sheep , cattle, and more recently, rising numbers of elk and mule deer due to loss of predators . Many ski resorts and summer resorts operate on leased land in national forests. National forests include 14 national monuments where resource extraction is restricted. Logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to

645-486: The " wildland–urban interface " create "community wildfire protection plans." Community wildfire protection plans designate areas adjacent to communities that should be thinned so that crown fires will not directly burn into communities. The Bush administration claims broad support for HFI, stating on the official website: "The Administration and a bipartisan majority in Congress supported the legislation and are joined by

688-938: The "Bunyan Buggie," was built in 1960 for service in California, featuring wheels 24 feet (7.3 m) high. After World War II, mechanized logging equipment, including chainsaws, diesel trucks, and Caterpillar tractors , transformed the logging industry, making railroad-based logging obsolete. With the advent of these tools, transporting logs became more efficient as new roads were constructed to access remote forests. However, in protected areas like United States National Forests and designated wilderness zones, road building has been restricted to minimize environmental impacts such as erosion in riparian zones . Today, heavy machinery such as yarders and skyline systems are used to gather logs from steep terrain, while helicopters are used for heli-logging to minimize environmental impact. Less common forms of logging, like horse logging and

731-832: The EIS requirement for timber sales up to 1,000 acres (400 ha) and prescribed burns up to 4,500 acres (1,800 ha). On December 5, 2007, in Sierra Club v. Bosworth , the Ninth Circuit held that the Forest Service's promulgation of the categorical exclusion "was arbitrary and capricious". Archive index at the Wayback Machine United States National Forest In the United States , national forest

774-466: The Forest Service to identify, investigate, and protect cultural resources on lands it manages. The U.S. Forest Service also manages all of the United States national grasslands and nearly 50% of the United States national recreation areas . Land management of these areas focuses on conservation , timber harvesting , livestock grazing , watershed protection, wildlife , and recreation . Unlike national parks and other federal lands managed by

817-538: The United States. The Land Revision Act of 1891 , enacted during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison , allowed the president to set aside forest reserves on public lands. Harrison established 15 forest reserves containing more than 13 million acres of land. The bill was the result of concerted action by Los Angeles -area businessmen and property owners who were concerned by the harm being done to

860-410: The act should focus on small tree removal, and maximize retention of large trees. Furthermore, supporters of the act point to the fact that projects under the act must, before going through NEPA, be approved by a collaborative group, which should include all interested and affected parties (including adjacent land owners, special use permit holders in the area, and environmental groups). The intent of NEPA

903-532: The first storms of the winter and crept along the forest floor. Low branches and fallen trees were consumed in the low intensity larger logs tended to burn beneath the snow during the winter. Positive advantages of this practical method of forest management was that the ash left behind fertilized the forest trees and plants and bark beetles which are ravishing so much of the Western Forests were killed before boring into trees. Pinecones were also liberated by

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946-634: The first-designated wilderness areas , and some of the largest, are on national forest lands. There are management decision conflicts between conservationists and environmentalists and natural resource extraction companies and lobbies (e.g. logging & mining) over the protection and/or use of national forest lands. These conflicts center on endangered species protection, logging of old-growth forests , intensive clear cut logging , undervalued stumpage fees, mining operations and mining claim laws, and logging/mining access roadbuilding within national forests. Additional conflicts arise from concerns that

989-469: The following three are considered industrial methods: Trees are felled and then delimbed and topped at the stump. The log is then transported to the landing, where it is bucked and loaded on a truck. This leaves the slash (and the nutrients it contains) in the cut area, where it must be further treated if wild land fires are of concern. Trees and plants are felled and transported to the roadside with top and limbs intact. There have been advancements to

1032-437: The forest floors by 70 years of neglect. Opponents of the nicknamed "No Tree Left Behind" Act point out that logging companies will be allowed to unnecessarily cut large diameter trees under a false pretense, while neglecting the greater issue of ladder fuels (such as brush and small trees) and possibly leaving debris that would add to extremely volatile ground fuels. Furthermore, forest fires occur naturally and are critical to

1075-434: The forest will eventually die and grow back very slowly. In 2004, the Sierra Club and Sierra Forest Legacy (formerly named Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign) brought a lawsuit challenging one aspect of HFI. The National Environmental Policy Act requires preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for agency actions. Under HFI, the Forest Service had promulgated a "categorical exclusion" that eliminated

1118-434: The heat to release their seeds into the soil. In the spring natural grasses provided extensive grazing opportunities for livestock and wildlife inhabiting the forest regions and also provided critical anti-erosion during heavy rains. To return the forest to such pristine grandness will require extensive planning to remove the more dense fuel loads and careful prescribed burns to liquidate remaining pockets of heavy fuels left on

1161-703: The highest fatality rate of 23.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers and a non-fatal incident rate of 8.5 per 100 FTE workers. The most common type of injuries or illnesses at work include musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which include an extensive list of "inflammatory and degenerative conditions affecting the muscles , tendons , ligaments , joints , peripheral nerves , and supporting blood vessels ." Loggers work with heavy, moving weights, and use tools such as chainsaws and heavy equipment on uneven and sometimes steep or unstable terrain . Loggers also deal with severe environmental conditions, such as inclement weather and severe heat or cold. An injured logger

1204-841: The highest output since 1997". Furthermore, President Trump signed an executive order to "establish the United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council" in order to further the Federal Government's participation in this effort and repeal the current $ 30 million annual funding cap for the Reforestation Trust Fund. The United States national forest comprises about 132 million acres. There are 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands containing 193 million acres (297,000 mi /769 000 km ) of land. These lands comprise 8.5 percent of

1247-517: The issue of structural destruction caused by super forest fires is exceeding 2 billion dollars a year. From a historical standpoint looking to the Sierra Nevada Mountains prior to the inception of the Forest Service the forests were burned every year by the ranchers who ran livestock in these regions. Consequently the amount of fuel left on the forest floor was minor, resulting in low intensity fires. The fires were typically lit during

1290-483: The logging industry employed 86,000 workers and accounted for 93 deaths. This resulted in a fatality rate of 108.1 deaths per 100,000 workers that year. This rate is over 30 times higher than the overall fatality rate. Forestry/logging-related injuries (fatal and non-fatal) are often difficult to track through formal reporting mechanisms. Thus, some programs have begun to monitor injuries through publicly available reports such as news media. The logging industry experiences

1333-484: The long-term survival of many forests, since many trees will only grow once they detect that a fire has occurred since this gives them access to sunlight. Some opponents also criticize the blanket prescription of thinning to forests where low intensity fires did not historically play a pivotal role . Furthermore, some saplings only grow after forest fires have cleared away older and dead trees; if humans intervene by preventing natural forest fires from occurring for too long,

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1376-519: The manual logging era before the 1880s, the railroad logging era from the 1880s to World War II , and the modern mechanized era that began after the war. In the early days, felled logs were transported using simple methods such as rivers to float tree trunks downstream to sawmills or paper mills. This practice, known as log driving or timber rafting , was the cheapest and most common. Some logs, due to high resin content, would sink and were known as deadheads. Logs were also moved with high-wheel loaders,

1419-513: The overcrowding of forests due to the suppression of low intensity fires. The resulting buildup of ground fuels and trees is thought to have increased the size and severity of wildfires in the United States. Detractors of the law contend that the bill opens previously protected forest areas to logging, often unnecessarily or under false pretense. Disagreement exists concerning the role of private logging companies in thinning stands and clearing fire-breaks. The HFI also requires that communities within

1462-431: The practice of managing stands by harvesting a proportion of trees. Logging usually refers to above-ground forestry logging. Submerged forests exist on land that has been flooded by damming to create reservoirs . Harvesting trees from forests submerged by flooding or dam creation is called underwater logging , a form of timber recovery. Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a method of harvesting that removes essentially all

1505-413: The process which now allows a logger or harvester to cut the tree down, top, and delimb a tree in the same process. This ability is due to the advancement in the style felling head that can be used. The trees are then delimbed, topped, and bucked at the landing. This method requires that slash be treated at the landing. In areas with access to cogeneration facilities, the slash can be chipped and used for

1548-483: The production of electricity or heat. Full-tree harvesting also refers to utilization of the entire tree including branches and tops. This technique removes both nutrients and soil cover from the site and so can be harmful to the long-term health of the area if no further action is taken, however, depending on the species, many of the limbs are often broken off in handling so the result may not be as different from tree-length logging as it might seem. Cut-to-length logging

1591-649: The standing trees in a selected area. Depending on management objectives, a clearcut may or may not have reserve trees left to attain goals other than regeneration, including wildlife habitat management, mitigation of potential erosion or water quality concerns. Silviculture objectives for clearcutting, (for example, healthy regeneration of new trees on the site) and a focus on forestry distinguish it from deforestation . Other methods include shelterwood cutting , group selective , single selective , seed-tree cutting , patch cut , and retention cutting . The above operations can be carried out by different methods, of which

1634-581: The total land area of the United States, an area about the size of Texas . About 87 percent of national forest land lies in the Western United States , mostly in mountain ranges. Alaska has 12 percent of all national forest lands. Within the national forest system, there are 1,200 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places and 23 are National Historic Landmarks . The National Historic Preservation Act requires

1677-533: The use of corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits. It may involve the so-called " timber mafia ". Excess logging can lead to irreparable harm to ecosystems, such as deforestation and biodiversity loss . Infrastructure for logging can also lead to other environmental degradation . These negative environmental impacts can lead to environmental conflict . Additionally, there

1720-623: The use of oxen, still exist but are mostly superseded. Logging is a dangerous occupation. In the United States, it has consistently been one of the most hazardous industries and was recognized by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding occupational health and safety issues. In 2008,

1763-524: The watershed of the San Gabriel Mountains by ranchers and miners. Abbot Kinney and forester Theodore Lukens were key spokesmen for the effort. There have been multiple legislative acts to expand the scope of the national forest system, as well as shrinking it. In 2020, the Trump administration encouraged more forest products to be harvested in order to support a struggling economy. There

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1806-619: Was a plan to develop around 190 million acres of protected National Forests in order to increase logging, grazing, and energy resources. This would be facilitated through shrinking the rules and regulations required to get permits to conduct such business. In October 2020, the Trump administration proclaimed its goal of "strengthening markets for wood products and incentivizing innovative manufacturing techniques" and reported "The Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service sold 3.3 billion board feet of timber from national forests in fiscal year 2019 —

1849-600: Was reported in the news section of the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology that timber interests created a front group called Project Protect to help pass the Healthy Forests legislation. Proponents of HFI believe that high intensity fires in the Western United States have increased in intensity and size in recent years. This is largely a result of fire suppression, which has created

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