From Policy to Practice: What Responsible Timber Expansion Looks Like on the Ground
Forest health is in crisis—and for once, national policy might finally be catching up.
A recent federal executive order calling for the “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production” has reignited debate about how public lands should be managed. While some view the move as a threat to ecological protections, others—like Janicki Logging Co.—see a more nuanced opportunity: a chance to re-engage in long-overdue stewardship of dangerously overstocked forests.
This isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about cutting trees the right way—and restoring balance to ecosystems on the brink.
“A lot of people think logging equals destruction,” says Peter Janicki, Operations Manager at Janicki Logging Co. “But much of the land in places like the Mt. Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest was already harvested once decades ago. What we’re seeing now is what happens when those forests are left unmanaged for too long—disease, blowdowns, wildfire risk. It’s not healthy, and it’s not natural.”
Earlier this spring, Salish Current published a feature exploring the potential impacts of this policy shift on the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest. Peter Janicki was interviewed as part of that piece, offering ground-level perspective on what’s needed most.
“I’m not even asking for more timber,” he said in the article. “I’m asking for the 7 million feet I have under contract that I could actually go in there and log instead of being told I gotta wait ‘til June.’”
Janicki also emphasized that the industry has changed—moving away from high-impact methods and toward science-based, wildlife-conscious forest management.
“We actually take care of the streams, we take care of fish buffers, and we work with the tribes,” he told Salish Current. “We do what we need to do to be correct now.”
Why Forest Access Matters for Restoration
The executive order includes language to streamline timber permitting and reduce administrative delays. It has its critics—and rightly so, if it's misunderstood as an invitation to log indiscriminately. But the reality on the ground tells a different story.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, thousands of acres of national forest are choked with trees. Many stands have over 600 trees per acre—double or triple the density a forest can sustain. That overcrowding reduces biodiversity, weakens root systems, and makes entire landscapes more vulnerable to drought, pests, and fire.
“We’re not asking for more timber volume,” Peter adds. “We’re asking for access to the volume already awarded under contract—so we can do the work before it’s lost to blowdown or bark beetles.”
Opening access—especially through ecologically engineered roads—makes it possible to reach and treat these areas. When done right, access doesn't mean more harvest. It means more habitat restoration, better fire breaks, and even improved fish passage.
That’s also the view shared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In April 2025, the USDA issued Memorandum 1078‑006, formally declaring an “emergency situation” on 112.6 million acres of national forest suffering from wildfire, disease, or insect outbreaks. The memo calls for accelerated action—not to deregulate forest management, but to increase resilience by enabling forest restoration work through partnerships, stewardship contracts, and the use of proven science-based tools like ecological thinning.
The goal? To "reduce wildfire disasters, improve fish and wildlife habitats, and create prosperity for rural communities"—while still meeting legal requirements under the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and National Historic Preservation Act.
What Restoration Logging Looks Like in Practice
Restoration forestry isn’t one-size-fits-all. It adapts to the forest type, wildlife needs, and long-term goals of the landowner or land manager.
At the Trillium Community Forest on Whidbey Island, Janicki Logging Co. partnered with the Whidbey Camano Land Trust to transform a stagnant Douglas-fir plantation into a thriving mixed-species forest. Over multiple entries and a 12-year plan, the team used careful thinning and habitat gaps to bring back native understory, improve soil health, and increase biodiversity.
“Before this thinning, there was virtually zero understory,” David Janicki noted in a recent walkthrough. “By opening up the canopy, you allow sunlight to reach the ground—and that’s when life comes back.”
In contrast, the Finney Creek Watershed Project between Darrington and Concrete highlights how ecological thinning can meet federal wildlife restoration objectives. In this Forest Service–led effort, JLC is restoring habitat for spotted owls, marbled murrelets, and wintering deer—species that depend on specific canopy spacing, shaded streambeds, and intermittent open gaps.
“Behind me, you can see what poorly managed second-growth looks like—dense stands with no ground vegetation, no light, and very little wildlife,” Peter Janicki explains on-site. “Once we thin it, we expose the soil to light again. That’s when vegetation returns. That’s when you start to see life coming back into the forest.”
This dual approach—strategic thinning combined with species-specific gap spacing—is developed in partnership with Forest Service biologists. Some areas are left dense to shield water sources and provide cover for predators. Others are opened to promote regeneration, habitat diversity, and browsing.
Whether it's a community forest, national forest, or private land, the goal is the same: ecological resilience through proactive management.
🎥 Watch: Peter Janicki explains how forest structure is restored for wildlife habitat in the Finney Creek Watershed Project.
What This Means for Public Lands
The idea that federal forest policy is swinging wildly toward exploitation misses the real potential of this moment. The executive order does not remove environmental protections—it directs agencies to reduce bureaucratic delays while continuing to follow the Endangered Species Act and site-specific review.
That’s not deregulation. That’s enabling forest health work to happen before disaster strikes.
And with the Forest Service already understaffed and overburdened, partnerships with experienced local contractors—those with proven track records in restoration—are more important than ever.
“If we can’t reach the problem areas, we can’t fix them,” Peter says. “But if we build smart access with wildlife and fish in mind, we can do a lot of good for the forest—and for the communities who rely on it.”
Seeing Is Believing
The best way to understand modern restoration forestry is to see it. At Janicki Logging Co., we welcome opportunities to share what thoughtful thinning, habitat-enhancing harvest, and science-based access look like in practice.
From neighbors who were once afraid of logging to conservation groups who now advocate for it, we’ve helped change minds—through results on the ground, not just rhetoric.
Because healthy forests don’t manage themselves. And the cost of inaction is rising.
