Editing National forest (United States) (section)

==History==
{{See also|History of the United States Forest Service}}
The [[Land Revision Act of 1891]], enacted during the presidency of [[Benjamin Harrison]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McCarthy|first=G. M.|date=1977-01-01|title=Hour of trial: the conservation conflict in Colorado and the West, 1891--1907|osti=5021710|url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5021710|language=en}}</ref> allowed the president to set aside forest reserves on public lands.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gifford Pinchot National Forest: Early History |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/forest-research/heritage/early1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621142351/http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/forest-research/heritage/early1.html#top |archive-date=21 June 2009 |access-date=9 April 2020 |website=U.S. Forest Service}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=McCarthy|first=G. M.|date=1977-01-01|title=Hour of trial: the conservation conflict in Colorado and the West, 1891--1907|osti=5021710|url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5021710|language=en}}</ref> Harrison established 15 '''forest reserves''' containing more than 13&nbsp;million acres of land.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Planet--A Brief History of National Forests|url=https://vault.sierraclub.org/planet/199706/history.asp|access-date=2020-10-16|website=vault.sierraclub.org|archive-date=2020-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017205550/https://vault.sierraclub.org/planet/199706/history.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> The bill was the result of concerted action by [[Los Angeles]]-area businessmen and property owners who were concerned by the harm being done to the watershed of the [[San Gabriel Mountains]] by ranchers and miners. [[Abbot Kinney]] and forester [[Theodore Lukens]] were key spokesmen for the effort.

===Timeline of legislation===
* 1897: The [[Organic Act of 1897|Organic Act]] was passed to protect watersheds and forests while still allowing the timber industry to continue.<ref name=":0" />
* 1905: The [[Transfer Act of 1905]] established the US Forest Service as a division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).<ref name=":0" /> This agency was formed to map, maintain, and protect forests as well as provide water and timber for national benefit. Gifford Pinchot was appointed the head of the US Forest Service by [[Theodore Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]].<ref name=":0" />
* 1907: 99&nbsp;million acres were added to the national forests.<ref name=":0" />
* 1922: The Secretary of Agriculture authorized the selling of national forest land in exchange for private land of equal value, which changed the national forest service from a conservation organization to one that focuses on the [[logging]] industry.<ref name=":0" />
* 1925: National forests were authorized to grant grazing permits for 10 years.<ref name=":0" />
* 1944: The Sustained-Yield Forest Management Act was passed, which encouraged the building of logging mills throughout the west.<ref name=":0" />
* 1960: The [[Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960|Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act]] directs national forests to be managed for their timber, range, water, recreation, and wildlife, with no use greater than another.<ref>Godfrey, Anthony ''The Ever-Changing View-A History of the National Forests in California'' USDA Forest Service Publishers, 2005 p. 399</ref>
* 1970: The National Environmental Policy Act was passed, which required the [[environmental impact statement]]s to be made for federal actions that may impact the environment. This allowed a legal standing to challenge the logging industry.<ref name=":0" />
* 1973: The [[Endangered Species Act of 1973|Endangered Species Act]] passed, giving forest advocates a legal basis to challenge logging if it threatened an endangered species.<ref name=":0" />
* 1976: The [[National Forest Management Act of 1976|National Forest Management Act]] was enacted to protect lands and ecosystems.<ref name=":0" /> It was to protect national forests from destructive logging practices, so Congress told the Forest System to develop regulations on the size of clear-cuts, protect waterways, and restrict the cutting rate to protect reforestation.<ref name=":0" />
* 1994: The Northwest Forest Plan was announced by President [[Bill Clinton]] to try to slow logging in old-growth forests.<ref name=":0" />

There have been multiple legislative acts to expand the scope of the national forest system, as well as shrinking it. In 2020, the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] encouraged more forest products to be harvested to support a struggling economy. There was a plan to develop around 190&nbsp;million acres of protected National Forests to increase logging, grazing, and energy resources.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Grandoni|first=Dino|title=Analysis {{!}} The Energy 202: Forest Service sparks controversy for pushing logging, oil during pandemic|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2020/06/15/the-energy-202-forest-service-sparks-controversy-for-pushing-logging-oil-during-pandemic/5ee6835d602ff12947e8c134/|access-date=2020-10-16|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=2020-10-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022091854/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2020/06/15/the-energy-202-forest-service-sparks-controversy-for-pushing-logging-oil-during-pandemic/5ee6835d602ff12947e8c134/|url-status=live}}</ref> This would be facilitated through shrinking the rules and regulations required to get permits to conduct such business. In October 2020, the Trump administration proclaimed its goal of "strengthening markets for wood products and incentivizing innovative manufacturing techniques" and reported "The Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service sold 3.3 billion board feet of timber from national forests in fiscal year 2019 — the highest output since 1997".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Proclamation on National Forest Products Week, 2020|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-national-forest-products-week-2020/|access-date=2020-12-01|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120201949/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-national-forest-products-week-2020/|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, President Trump signed an [[executive order]] to "establish the United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council" in order to further the Federal Government's participation in this effort and repeal the current $30&nbsp;million annual funding cap for the Reforestation Trust Fund.<ref name=":4" />