Wyden, Merkley Announce $7.47 Million to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Boost Timber Production

Washington D.C.-U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced more than $7.4 million to support removal and transport of 417,308 tons of low-value trees and woody debris from national forests to processing facilities, including a critical $4.6 million award to support the forest products industry in Grant County.

"Responsible forestry is at the center of Oregon's identity, and multiple-use of our national forests is critical for combatting the effects of the ongoing climate crisis while also supporting rural economies," Wyden said. "Not only does this federal award keep Oregon's rural communities safer by clearing out the buildup of fire prone material from our beautiful national forests, but it also supports rural economies that depend on sustainable forest products and management. I will continue to fight for common-sense solutions just like this to protect our state."

"Addressing hazardous fuels is win-win-win, it reduces wildfire risk, supports good-paying mill jobs, and increases forest resiliency," said Merkley, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which provides funds to the Forest Service for this and other hazardous fuels programs. "As our fire seasons continue to grow longer and fiercer, this critical federal funding is the exact type of common-sense investment we need to keep communities safe and strong."

This $7.4 million investment from the U.S. Forest Service's Hazardous Fuels Transportation Assistance Program will be distributed as follows:

• Iron Triangle LLC: $4,665,063 - Multiple projects are on the Malheur National Forest in Oregon. Products include sawlogs and non-saw transported to multiple mills in Oregon and Idaho. An estimated 264,494 tons/45,080 MBF will be hauled to various sawmills and biomass facilities to produce lumber, engineered wood, post and pole, and various other uses.
• Boise Cascade Wood Products LLC: $385,138 - Two sawlog removal projects are on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in Oregon. Approximately 15,424 tons/2,373 MBF will be transported and produced into lumber and engineered wood products.
• Dodge Logging Inc.: $648,000 - A biomass project on the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon will haul approximately 20,000 tons/3,200 MBF in chip form for the production of paper products.
• Gilchrist Forest Products LLC: $588,648 - The project is on the Deschutes, Fremont-Winema, and Umpqua national forests in Oregon. An estimated 45,108 tons/7,217 MBF of mill residuals will be transported to a biomass power plant for domestic electrical energy production
• Heartwood Biomass Inc.: $773,031 - This award consists of two projects on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in Oregon. An estimated 51,744 tons/8,279 MBF of sawlogs and biomass will be transported and used. Sawtimber will be hauled to a sawmill to produce lumber products. Non-saw will be hauled and used to produce posts and poles, wood straw, firewood, and wood chips.
• Rude Logging LLC: $410,748 - The biomass removal project is on the Malheur National Forest in Oregon. Approximately 20,538 tons/3,160 MBF will be transported to utilization facilities that produce firewood, fence posts, and stays.

"Iron Triangle is grateful for the support of Senators Wyden and Merkley in securing the Hazardous Fuels Transportation Grant. This funding not only helps keep our employees working and sawlogs moving to the remaining mills in Eastern and Central Oregon, but also plays a vital role in reducing hazardous fuels on the Malheur National Forest. Together, we are supporting forest health, local jobs, and providing stability for local businesses and their employees across Eastern Oregon during this transition period." said Russ Young, owner of Iron Triangle LLC.

"We're grateful for Senators Merkley and Wyden for supporting this grant program, which is imperative for the success of these two critical projects on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Since these projects started, transportation prices have nearly doubled, while regional product markets have collapsed. That has meant low-value biomass is often left in the woods or burned in decks-missing the ecological and local manufacturing benefits the projects were designed to deliver. This grant helps unlock that potential for these projects," said David Schmidt, CEO of Heartwood Biomass.

Wyden and Merkley have a long history of championing responsible forest management and advocating for the small businesses that rely on timber processing. In September of 2024, Wyden and Merkley called for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service to support critical forest management infrastructure through the Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act by providing a transportation incentive to haul significant volumes of small diameter logs and low value biomass to the Malheur Lumber mill. In July of 2025, Merkley and Wyden wrote to USDA Secretary Brook Rollins in support of Iron Triangle's grant application to the Hazardous Fuels Transportation Assistance Grant Program. Merkley also wrote the bipartisan Supporting American Wood and Mill Infrastructure with Loans for Longevity (SAWMILL) Act to support mills in Oregon and across the nation by unlocking federal dollars to support mills retooling or modernizing their infrastructure, enabling them to process hazardous fuels coming off public lands. For over 10 years, Wyden and Merkley have worked closely with the forestry community to support mills and accelerate timber sales, including solidifying an agreement with USFS in 2012 to secure more timber volume from Malheur National Forest that kept the Malheur Lumber mill from closing.

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