Wisconsin
Wisconsin may see more logging of national forest land under Trump order
President Donald Trump wants to ramp up timber production by fast-tracking projects under laws that protect endangered species and other environmental regulations, which could expand logging of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
Earlier this month, Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to issue guidance on increasing timber production and sound forest management. The order is intended to make the nation “more self-reliant” as Trump has imposed, and then paused, tariffs on Canada, the nation’s largest supplier of lumber.
Trump has called on the secretaries of the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior to adopt categorical exclusions that essentially exempt certain activities from detailed environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.
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The president’s order also directs agencies to convene a committee under emergency regulations that could bypass endangered species protections to clear the way for logging projects.
Environmental groups like the Environmental Law & Policy Center argue that more logging would damage national forests and harm recreation, wildlife and water quality. Andy Olsen, the group’s senior policy advocate, said the order represents an ideology that led to clear cutting of Wisconsin forests more than 100 years ago.
“We should not return to the failed past. We should be moving forward and increasing environmental protections, increasing protection of the forest and increasing forest-friendly economic development like tourism,” Olsen said.
Olsen notes the proposal comes as the USDA’s Forest Service may cut as many as 7,000 federal workers, raising alarms over reduced oversight of logging.
A USDA spokesperson said it will continue to protect wildlife under the Endangered Species Act while meeting Trump’s directive “to provide the nation with abundant domestic timber, unhampered by burdensome, heavy-handed policies that neither ensure American economic security nor protection of natural resources.”
It’s unclear to what extent the order may affect the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin.
Trump has called on leaders of multiple federal agencies to issue updated guidance by April on tools to ramp up timber production. Those tools may include the use of stewardship contracts and Good Neighbor Authority, or GNA, agreements.
Wisconsin signed a GNA agreement with the U.S. Forest Service in 2015 that authorized the state to assist with national forest management, including timber sales. Since 2015, the Department of Natural Resources said it’s conducted just shy of 200 timber sales spanning 32,000 acres under the agreement.
“Expanded timber production on the CNNF could lead to an increase in the amount of national forest timber sales available for the state to administer through our GNA agreement; however, it is uncertain how much additional volume beyond the current average of 25 million board feet annually the state would be capable of managing,” a DNR spokesperson said in an email.
The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is already one of the top timber-producing national forests in the country, said Ron Eckstein, co-chair of the public lands and forestry workgroup with Wisconsin’s Green Fire. The forest sold around 125 million board feet in fiscal year 2024.
“They’ve been able to get that timber produced while protecting wildlife habitat, biodiversity, [and] following the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal regulations,” Eckstein said.
The national forest and other federal forest land make up 9.4 percent of the state’s nearly 17 million acres of forest land. The forestry and logging sector directly employs around 4,400 of the 57,000 workers in Wisconsin’s nearly $27 billion forest products industry.
Logging advocates like Henry Schienebeck with the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association said the order represents a golden opportunity for the public to have healthy, well-managed forests.
“I think they’re doing a great job between the state and the Forest Service working together to get the forest managed because we were behind, way behind, and we’re still behind a little bit,” Schienebeck, the group’s executive director, said.
Prior to 2015, the Forest Service said it had struggled with managing timber sales in northern Wisconsin, and the agency has faced rising costs of fire suppression. Schienebeck pointed to wildfires in California as another reason why increased timber production would be a win for the country.
“Would people rather recreate in a healthy, clean forest? Or would they rather recreate in ashes and watch ashes run into streams and basically ruin water quality?” Schienebeck said.
Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s conservative policy roadmap, said increased timber sales could reduce wildfire risk. Trump has also blamed California wildfires on poor forest management as scientists insist climate change is behind extreme heat and drought driving wildfires.
The White House contends the order would reduce not only wildfire risks but also dependence on foreign goods as tariffs on Canada may resume next month.
Tariff actions create uncertainty, drive up building material costs
Most recent federal data from 2021 shows the nation imported nearly half of its forest products from Canada. That same year, Wisconsin imported more than $600 million of wood products, the most since 2009.
At the same time, Canada is the top importer of wood and paper products from Wisconsin, and the state exported more than $840 million worth of wood and paper products in 2022.
Troy Brown, president of Kretz Lumber, said it’s unclear what effects tariffs may have on the lumber industry as the situation is ever-evolving.
“Where we would be affected is if we have retaliatory tariffs, and that is where our product ends up being tariffed by the consuming country, and they have to then absorb a higher cost for our product,” Brown said.
The cost of building materials used for home construction are already rising as a result of the Trump administration’s tariffs, according to the Associated Press. Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods earlier this month, prompting Canada to tack on $21 billion in retaliatory tariffs.
The president later postponed some tariffs until April 2, including lumber. Even so, the National Association of Homebuilders estimates uncertainty over recent tariff actions have caused costs to rise to $9,200 per home.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2025, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin man accused of setting fire to congressman’s office over TikTok ban gets 7 years in prison
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man who allegedly told police he tried to set fire to a Republican congressman’s office last year because he was angry that the lawmaker backed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell off its U.S. operations was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison.
In addition to the prison time, Fond du Lac County Circuit Judge Tricia Walker sentenced 20-year-old Caiden Stachowicz to seven years of extended supervision, court records show.
Stachowicz, of Menasha, pleaded no contest to an arson charge in November. Prosecutors dropped burglary and property damage counts in exchange for Stachowicz’s no contest plea, which isn’t an admission of guilt but is treated as such for the purposes of sentencing.
Stachowicz’s attorney, Timothy Hogan, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
According to a criminal complaint, a police officer responded to a fire outside Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman’s office in Fond du Lac, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee, at around 1 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2025, and saw Stachowicz standing nearby.
He told the officer that he started the fire because he doesn’t like Grothman, according to the complaint. He initially planned to break into the office and start the fire inside but he couldn’t break the window, so he poured gas on an electrical box behind the building and around the front of the building, lit a match and watched it burn, according to the complaint.
He said he wanted to burn down the office because the federal government was shutting down TikTok in violation of his constitutional rights and peace was not longer an option, the complaint states. He added that Grothman voted for the shutdown, but he didn’t want to hurt Grothman or anyone else.
This undated photo provided by the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department and the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office on Nov. 10, 2025, shows Caiden Stachowicz. Credit: AP/Uncredited
Grothman voted for a bill in April 2024 that required TikTok’s China-based company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operation. The deadline was Jan. 19, 2025, but President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders prolonging it. TikTok finalized a deal two months ago to create an American version of of the social video platform. Trump praised the deal.
A spokesperson for Grothman’s congressional office didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
MADISON (AP) — Reserve Braeden Carrington scored 18 points, John Blackwell scored 14 points and Wisconsin poured it on in the second half to dismantle Maryland 78-45 on Wednesday night.
Nick Boyd scored 13 points and reserve Austin Rapp scored 11 points for Wisconsin (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten), which had 11 players enter the scoring column.
The Badgers’ Andrew Rohde passed out six of Wisconsin’s 15 assists and didn’t commit a turnover. Wisconsin turned it over only three times.
Andre Mills scored 14 points and Elijah Saunders scored 11 points for Maryland.
Wisconsin turned an already commanding 34-21 first-half stranglehold into a 21-point lead 5 1/2 minutes into the second half. The Badgers shot 48% (27 of 56) and made 42% (13 of 31) from 3-point range. The Badgers scored 44 second-half points.
It was the fewest point Maryland (11-19, 4-15) has ever posted against Wisconsin in the shot-clock era. It was also Maryland’s lowest point total of the season.
Wisconsin has won five of its last seven. Maryland has lost five of its last six.
Up next
Maryland wraps up the regular season hosting 11th-ranked Illinois on Saturday.
Wisconsin ends the regular season at No. 15 Purdue on Saturday.
(WLUK) — As winter thaws, Wisconsinites are encouraged to think about preparing for potential flooding.
Gov. Evers has declared March 9 -13 as Flood Safety Week in Wisconsin.
During Flood Safety Awareness Week, ReadyWisconsin is asking everyone to review their flooding risk and take proactive steps to protect their families, homes, and businesses before waters rise.
- Know your flood risk. Assess the potential for flooding on your property if you live in a flood plain, near a body of water, or have a basement. Plan with your family for what you will do if the floodwaters begin to rise.
- Consider flood insurance. Most homeowner, rental, and business insurance policies generally do not cover flooding. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Most flood coverage requires 30 days to take effect. Find more information about flood insurance options here.
- Move valuables or mementos out of the basement and store them in waterproof containers.
- Elevate or flood-proof your washer, dryer, water heater, and HVAC systems. Relocate electrical outlets to three feet above the floor.
- Have copies of important documents (personal identification like passports and birth certificates, medical records, insurance policies, and financial documents) in a waterproof container.
- Build a “Go Kit.” Include items such as food, water, cash, and medications.
- Make an emergency plan. If you can’t make it home or need to leave quickly, identify a meeting place for your family. Make a list of emergency numbers and important contacts.
- Keep water out of and away from your house. Clean gutters regularly, direct downspouts away from your foundation, repair cracks in your foundation, improve grading so water flows away from your house, and cover window wells.
When flooding occurs, keep the following steps in mind:
- Stay up to date on the forecast. Identify multiple ways to receive alerts about dangerous weather conditions and potential flooding, such as a NOAA Weather Radio, trusted local news outlets, and mobile weather apps. Enable Wireless Emergency Alerts on your smartphones.
- Never drive or walk through flooded areas. Just six inches of fast-moving water can sweep adults off their feet, while just 12 inches can carry away a small car or 24 inches for larger vehicles. Moving water is not the only danger, your vehicle could potentially stall when driving through floodwater.
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Flooding could potentially impact your health as well. Avoid entering floodwaters, which can contain bacteria from human and animal waste, sharp objects, hazardous chemicals, downed power lines, and other dangerous items. If your home floods, follow cleaning and disinfection guidelines to avoid mold growth.
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