The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manage timber sales on federal lands based on principles of multiple use and sustained yield. However, in places like the Tongass National Forest, timber programs have long operated at a loss. Since 1980, the USFS has spent roughly $1.7 billion more on Tongass timber sales—primarily due to costly road construction—than it has earned in return. Reforming the federal timber program would eliminate wasteful subsidies, promote economically sustainable and environmentally responsible logging on public lands, and protect taxpayer interests.
