Increased wildfire risks on federal forest lands are coinciding with a downturn in the U.S. timber industry, complicating efforts to reduce fuel buildup through commercial logging. Despite government initiatives to expand logging access, timber sales have seen declining participation, raising concerns over the ability to manage wildfire-prone forests effectively.

In July, the U.S. Forest Service offered 947 acres in a remote area of western Colorado for commercial timber harvesting. However, no companies submitted bids, a trend repeated from the previous year. Industry representatives cite rising costs for fuel and equipment alongside falling prices for key timber products, particularly Ponderosa pine, as making such sales economically unviable. The diminished demand encompasses smaller tree trunks and wood residues historically used for paper pulp and biomass energy, sectors now shrinking due to digital media reducing paper consumption and the loss of federal tax credits for renewable energy.

The timber industry’s struggles have broader environmental implications. Timber sales are a critical tool in forest management, helping to thin dense undergrowth that, when left unchecked, serves as fuel for devastating wildfires. Experts note that without profitable markets, logging operations decline, leading to increased fuel loads in national forests.

This year, wildfires have scorched over 9 million acres across the United States, the largest area affected since 2015. Concurrently, the Forest Service’s forest thinning activities have decreased, with independent analyses showing a 30% reduction in acreage treated in fiscal year 2025 compared to 2024. Preliminary data for fiscal year 2026 indicate no significant increase in thinning efforts, according to Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, an advocacy group focused on fire management.

Forest Service leadership maintains that the agency remains on track to meet its treatment goals. Tom Schultz, the agency’s chief, reported the sale of 3.3 billion board feet of timber in fiscal 2026—enough wood to construct over 110,000 homes—and projected plans to remove dense vegetation from approximately 3.6 million acres of forest.

Historically, federal policy emphasized immediate wildfire suppression rather than allowing natural fires to reduce underbrush. This approach facilitated a build-up of combustible material near forest floors, leading to more intense fires capable of reaching and damaging tree canopies. The current challenges facing the timber industry threaten to slow the thinning process vital for mitigating such wildfire risks.

Efforts to revive timber markets face obstacles amid the broader decline in logging, which has been ongoing for decades but intensified recently due to rising operational costs and declining product demand. Without renewed profitability, stakeholders warn that forest management strategies reliant on commercial timber harvesting may struggle to keep pace with increasing wildfire threats fueled by climate change.