Oregon loggers say Roadless Rule repeal won’t fix core industry woes
Loggers in Oregon argue that undoing the Roadless Rule will not address their biggest challenges, such as soaring diesel costs, labor shortages and inflation, despite promises of a timber boom.
Timber businesses in Oregon contend that the upcoming repeal of the 2001 Roadless Rule, which barred most new logging on 44 million acres of pristine national forest, will not solve the sector’s deeper challenges. Sean Smith, CEO of Starfire Lumber, supports the reversal for a more reliable local timber supply but highlights record diesel prices, inflation-driven material costs and a severe labor shortage as immediate threats.
Jeff Brink of Brink Land Development describes the industry as a shadow of its 1980s peak, with numerous mill closures and few workers willing to take low-pay log-truck jobs. The administration claims the repeal will aid wildfire prevention through thinning, yet loggers argue that overgrown forests already pose fire danger and that projected gains of five-to-ten percent in federal sales are insufficient to revive the market.
Environmental groups have announced intent to sue, and veteran forest activist Timothy Ingalsbee warns that new roads could spark more human-caused fires. Overall, the policy shift is seen as inadequate to reverse decades of contraction in the Northwest timber sector.
Why it matters
The story shows how a major federal policy change may not address the real economic and safety issues facing rural timber communities.
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