"The Trump administration is allowing loggers to extend their tree-cutting contracts in national forests to support the timber industry during the coronavirus pandemic and to help national forests create jobs after the crisis ends.

“Having numerous economically viable timber purchasers is also essential as employment and the national economy recovers following the COVID-19 pandemic,” the U.S. Forest Service said in a Federal Register notice to be published Wednesday.

Environmental groups see the move as a back-door approach to prop up an industry hurt by a trade war with China started by President Donald Trump."

Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment April 14, 2020. [2]