That was quick!

Money doesn't grow on trees...
Our mission is public education as it relates to all things forestry - so your contributions matter.

Your support means we can continue to bring you the quality of content you have come to expect from Evergreen.

If you appreciate our work, let us know -
subscribe, donate, or leave us a tip!

Jim Jungwirth, Jefferson State Forest Products, Hayfork, California, from an August 30, 2003 Evergreen interview...

I cannot say enough good about the Forest Products Laboratory. You don’t have to be a Weyerhaeuser or a Georgia-Pacific to get them to return your phone calls.

They are customer driven and they clearly recognize that their market has shifted - from big companies needing help - to small communities that are trying to partner with the federal government to figure out how to solve the West’s forest health crisis.

Questions that would have taken me months and thousands of dollars to answer they answer - free of charge - in minutes. We have challenged them and they have met our challenge head-on.

When Evergreen started sounding the alarm about Congress zeroing out the Forest Service’s research and development budget, we didn’t think there was much hope for restoring the millions of dollars the Trump Administration had removed.

Just yesterday, we said on these pages that we did not believe the R&D budget would be restored during reconciliation.

Boy, were we ever wrong!

The House Appropriations Committee has rejected the Administration’s attempt to slash the R&D budget, instead holding it steady at $302 million for fiscal 2026, including $34 million for the Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) group.

Evergreen has been using FIA research for at least 25 years.

For readers who are new to our website, here are two of our most extensive reports concerning the enormous contributions R&D have made to the nation’s forests and their wellbeing.

An E&E News report late yesterday indicates that the House Committee reversed course on the R&D budget under intense lobbying from many groups - including Forest Service retirees and others who see great value in the critical and historic contribution R&D continues to make to forest science and its application.

Count Evergreen among the “others” who have - for decades - championed the research stations and the Forest Service’s Madison, Wisconsin laboratory. This is the heart of science-based forestry.

Also saved is the funding for most State and Private Forestry programs, including International Forestry. State and Private funding also supports Forest Service grants to states and communities for reducing wildfire risk.

And speaking of wildfire risk, the Committee did not endorse the Trump Administration's plan to move wildfire suppression from the USDA Forest Service to the Interior Department. A move that would required creating a sub-agency – another layer of unneeded bureaucracy.

The Forest Service’s $8.5 billion budget for fiscal 2026 will still be about $17 million less than the current fiscal year.

Spending not directly tied to wildfire suppression will be $3.6 billion, about $107 million less than this year - but still far ahead of zero.

Subcommittee markup on the revised Forest Service appropriation begins today [July 15]. It’s hard to guesstimate what will happen, but the House Appropriations Committee should be applauded for saying - no, hell no - to fiscal conservatives in the House who are already busy polishing up their midterm election bonafides.

Things you can do to support science-based decisions that help us maintain healthy forests and communities:

Stay in touch with Appropriation Committee members. Let them know you support and appreciate their work. House Appropriations Members

Support our Forest Service Retirees who continue to advocate for healthy, resilient forests and communities.