Brief Communication: Perspectives on Increasing Timber Harvest on National Forest Lands in the Pacific Northwest

Abstract This brief communication presents selected findings from recent social and economic monitoring of national forest policies in the Pacific Northwest. Qualitative interviews with timber industry professionals, USDA Forest Service (Forest Service) employees, and rural community members provided local perspectives on increasing the pace and scale of timber harvests on national forests. Challenges noted by interviewees included spatial consolidation of the wood processing facilities, limitations of the timber supply from federal lands, misalignment between timber sales and industry needs, market volatility, labor shortages, and regulatory complexity. Interviewees expressed skepticism about the Forest Service’s reliability in delivering consistent timber volume and highlighted barriers in the bidding process that disadvantage smaller operators. Workforce issues—both in wood processing facilities and logging operations—further constrain current and future production capacity. Our findings suggest that increasing timber harvests will require coordinated, long-term efforts to build trust, improve Forest Service capacity, and better align timber sale offerings with market needs. Rather than attributing production shortfalls solely to environmental regulation, the study emphasizes the need for federal policies that address structural and economic realities of the forest industry. These insights can inform durable strategies for forest restoration and timber production in the American West.