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Working Forests Michigan Initiative receives a significant boost from the USDA to protect jobs, timber supply, and recreation access across 177,000 acres.
Michigan Gains from $106M USDA Funding for Working Forests Conservation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $106 million to conserve up to 177,000 acres of working forestlands across eight states, including Michigan. The funding arrives through the Forest Legacy Program, aimed at preserving lands crucial to timber production, rural jobs, and outdoor recreation.
“Just like our farms and ranches, working forests are part of the backbone of rural America,” said Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, highlighting the multiple benefits of protected forests — from timber and recreation to clean water and rural economic development.
Economic Value of Michigan Forests Makes USDA Investment Strategic
Michigan’s forest products industry contributed more than $26.5?billion to the state economy in 2022, supporting 40,449 direct jobs and a total of 88,275 jobs when indirect effects are included. Average wages in the sector approached $80,000 annually.
State data show that Michigan’s forest products sector supports over 80,000 jobs, generates $26?billion in total output, and delivers $6.5?billion in labor income, and $9.9?billion in value added. The working forests Michigan initative is expected to improve job numbers further once implemented.
Michigan has about 20.2?million acres of forest—covering half the state—with 62% privately owned, making conservation investments important for sustaining timber supplies and forest-based economic activities
Forest Legacy Program Supports Michigan’s Timber?Driven Communities
Administered under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, the Forest Legacy Program works with landowners and states through voluntary conservation easements or land acquisitions. Land remains actively managed for timber and recreation, preserving working forests while preventing fragmentation and degradation.
Michigan projects under this grant will likely focus on forest-rich counties in the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula, where timber harvest fuels logging operations, sawmills, paper mills, and forest-based tourism
Trump Executive Order Accelerates Forestry Policies Aligned with Michigan Needs
This $106?million funding supports President Trump’s March?2025 Executive Order on Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production, which prioritizes forest management, wildfire risk reduction, and streamlined permitting to spur job creation and self-reliance in timber supply.
Secretary Rollins echoed that “forests have been left idle, only to burn and devastate communities,” affirming federal support to unlock the economic potential of working forests for communities to “grow and thrive.”
Long-Term Impact: Michigan’s Forest Sector Will Benefit From Sustained Investment
Michigan’s growing forest industry reflects broader policy successes. Since 2014, direct jobs in forest products increased nearly 10%, total output by 16%, labor income by 23.5%, and value-added by 22%
Protecting working forests helps maintain stability for rural economies, sustains timber jobs, supports downstream manufacturing, and preserves access to outdoor recreation such as hunting, fishing, camping and snowmobiling.
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