I hope that this is one of Trump’s usual spectacle and distraction moves, because if he seriously wants to do this, this could be the worst decision he could make in his *presidency* short of pushing the red button on the desk and we don’t mean the one that signals a Diet coke is needed. This is irreversible. Trump had a brainstorm about chopping down a lot of trees to demonstrate “We don’t need Canada.” He railed about the “environmental lunatics” and unfortunately, it’s not that simple. It never is, but Trump always thinks that it is.
This would top my list of the worst things he could do! He is trying to destroy nature to please his rich buddies!
— Emre Yurttas (@emrey35) March 7, 2025
This is a perfectly horrible idea. One with devastating and irreversible consequences. So of course Trump wants to implement it yesterday because it really will own the libs something fierce when the nation is in ruins.
President Donald Trump wants to increase logging in national forests and on public lands, including by bypassing endangered species protections.
To do that, the federal government would have to activate a seldom-used committee nicknamed the “God Squad” because it can approve federal projects even if it leads to extinction of a species otherwise protected by the Endangered Species Act.
But experts say there are strict procedural requirements — and no provision under law to proactively use the committee to bypass protections.
Here’s what to know:
What does Trump want?
The president on Saturday signed actions to increase domestic lumber production in national forests and other public lands, directing federal agencies to look for ways to bypass protections for endangered species.
Upon taking office in January, Trump declared a national energy emergency and directed the committee to convene at least quarterly to either consider exemptions or, if there are none, “to identify obstacles to domestic energy infrastructure” related to the Endangered Species Act or the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Endangered Species Act makes it illegal to harm or kill protected species and has led to restrictions on logging, mining and oil and gas development. The Marine Mammal Protection Act bans killing and harassment of marine mammals with some limited exceptions.
Officially called the Endangered Species Committee, it was established in 1978 as a way to exempt projects from Endangered Species Act protections if a cost-benefit analysis concluded it was the only way to achieve net economic benefits in the national or regional interest.
In the case of logging, the analysis also should determine if the benefits of cutting trees outweigh the economic value of watershed and other protections provided by standing timber, said Patrick Parenteau, an emeritus professor at the Vermont Law and Graduate School who helped write criteria for the God Squad.
The seven-member committee is led by the secretary of the Interior and includes the secretaries of Agriculture and the Army, administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Affected states also would be represented with one vote total, meaning multiple states would each get a fraction of a vote.
Five votes are required for an exemption.
Will Doug Burgum go along with this? We know that the Secretary of Agriculture is a mindless shill. It was her terrific idea that we all just buy chickens and not worry about the cost of eggs. Gee, isn’t it convenient that we all own homes with enough land to keep chickens and setting up such an operation is something we all have money for.
All of the enumerated cabinet members are in Trump’s pocket. So will they do what he wants and wreak irreversible damage? I guess we’re going to find out.
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I would really hope that *someone* around Drumpf reminds him that trees provide a very crucial aspect for the environment and that is to keep the soil from getting washed into rivers after heavy rains.
And I’m not sure what HE means by “reharvest” because it usually takes a good decade (at a minimum) for most trees to reach an economic viability point. You cut down a tree and plant a new one, and that new one is basically worthless for any use other than holding down soil for at least ten years. Checking the Wiki entry on “Pine,” for instance, “When grown for sawlogs, pine plantations can be harvested after 25 years, with some stands being allowed to grow up to 50 or more years (the wood value increases more quickly as the trees age). . . . Imperfect trees (such as those with bent trunks or forks, smaller trees, or diseased trees) are removed in a “thinning” operation every 5–10 years. . . . A 30-year-old commercial pine tree grown in good conditions in Arkansas will be about 0.3 m (1 ft) in diameter and about 20 m (66 ft) high. After 50 years, the same tree will be about 0.5 m (1+1⁄2 ft) in diameter and 25 m (82 ft) high, and its wood will be worth about seven times as much as the 30-year-old tree.”
Also, not all trees are necessarily suitable for lumber/timber purposes–at least, not without significant chemical treatments (that can be toxic to humans and animals). The pine, for instance, is rarely used for exterior building purposes as it’s not really resistant to insects or decay unless it’s been pressure treated (a chemical process done to the wood under high pressure). Until the early part of this century, arsenic was frequently used in treating wood (so, if the wood gets damaged, there’s a risk of arsenic exposure).
tRump is becoming UK’s, crazy King George III. Think about it…. Makes sense. He “thinks he’s in a Movie!” It’s getting WORSE! INSANITY REIGNS!
Every brain fart that Cheeto or one of his evil consorts have has a good chance of gaining traction in the hellscape of his deranged mind, that’s how it is with magalomaniacs, especially if it will cause an outcry from those treehugger types. His “vision” extends no further than his favorite McDonald’s meal consisting of Big Macs, Filet-O-Fish, large fry, and the presidential diet Coke. When it comes to the consequences of his actions, well, when has he ever had to face much in the way of consequences?