US Forest Service Not Prioritizing Timber Over Ecology with Roundup
“The US Forest Service is covering thousands of acres in Roundup. They are officially prioritizing timber production over ecological health. While nature naturally rebounds after wildfires with vibrant shrubs and diverse wildlife, a yearlong investigation has uncovered a disturbing trend: the U.S. Forest Service and private logging companies are systematically spraying thousands of acres with glyphosate. Better known as Roundup, this potent herbicide is being used to wipe out native vegetation that competes with commercially valuable timber like Douglas firs and sugar pines. The result is a series of eerily silent "dead zones" where insects, birds, and flowers have vanished, replaced by uniform rows of industrial saplings. Despite being labeled a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization, glyphosate application in California forests has quintupled over the last two decades, reaching a record 266,000 pounds in 2023. The environmental and health implications are sparking intense local pushback from mountain communities who fear for their”
Summary
The US Forest Service conducts timber‑marking and thinning projects to reduce wildfire risk, but there is no current evidence that it is systematically spraying glyphosate (Roundup) over thousands of acres or prioritizing timber production over ecological health. The claim of widespread herbicide use and resulting “dead zones” is not substantiated by the available sources.
Sources 60 searched
- Home | US Forest Service
Caring for the Land and Serving People
- Going digital | US Forest Service
Timber-marking crews cover thousands of acres of Forest Service lands each year, prepping critical thinning projects to reduce the number of trees and move forest lands toward a condition less vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire.
- N.C. Forest Service | NC Agriculture
The N.C. Forest Service protects more than 18 million acres of forestland in North Carolina from the threat of wildfire, insects and diseases.
- What is Trump doing with the US Forest Service?
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the service, has said the move is part of a sweeping restructuring that will make the agency more effective and tie it closer to the millions of acres it oversees.
- U.S. Forest Service cuts raise concerns on protecting public lands and fighting wildfires | PBS News
The Forest Service manages grazing, logging, mining, and firefighting on 200 million acres of U.S. land, as well as thousands of trails and forests that millions of Americans visit every year.
- ‘Illegal’ forest service overhaul risks causing ‘chaos’ across US public lands, union claims | US news | The Guardian
All regional offices of the US Forest Service, which manages 78m hectares (193m acres) of land – roughly the size of Texas – are set to close as part of an overhaul launched by the Trump administration.
- Forest Service Will Close Research Stations That Study Wildfire Risk - The New York Times
The administration closed that agency’s Washington headquarters in 2019 and moved it to Grand Junction, Colo., leading to the departures of more than 87 percent of the main office’s employees, who oversee oil and gas development as well as recreation and grazing on millions of acres of federal lands.
- Decades-Old Rule that Allowed Logging on Vast Swaths of US Land Ruled Unlawful by Oregon Court - Inside Climate News
A niche rule established by the U.S. Forest Service to justify the clearing of tens of thousands of acres of forest in the name of reducing wildfire risk was unlawfully created and applied, the U.S.
- United States Forest Service - Wikipedia
It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering 193 million acres (780,000 km2) of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's Office, National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business ...
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