Timber Relief Bill Offers Forest Businesses Up to $20K Immediately, Funded by Canadian Lumber Duties

This new legislation, officially called the Timber Harvesters, Haulers, and Landowners Market Disruptions Relief Act, is essentially an emergency fund for the logging industry. It sets up a program to deliver financial assistance to timber harvesting and hauling businesses when their local market suddenly goes sideways. The key mechanism here is the “market disruption” declaration by the Secretary of Agriculture, which can be triggered by a request from a State Governor or the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

When the Market Hits the Skids: Triggers for Aid

So, what counts as a “market disruption”? The bill lays out four specific, measurable triggers. Think of these as the tripwires: a processing facility (like a pulp mill) shuts down and causes at least a 20% loss of capacity in a region; foreign trade barriers slash export earnings for a specific product by 50%; the price of timber in a region drops by 50% over two years; or 20% of a region loses access to its old markets. There’s also a catch-all provision allowing the Secretary to declare a disruption based on “Any other event posing a significant threat” to the industry, which gives the Secretary a lot of room to step in.

Who Gets the Check? The Eligibility Checklist

This aid isn't for everyone in the woods. To qualify, a business must have lost revenue due to the disruption and must be serious about the timber business—meaning they earned at least $35,000 in taxable income from selling, harvesting, or hauling timber the year before the disruption. Crucially, they need to get at least 75% of their gross revenue from these activities. For landowners who grow and sell their own timber, the bar is even higher: they must have sold significant volumes (like 1 million board feet of sawtimber or 5,000 green tons of timber) in four out of the last five years. This ensures the funds are going to established, full-time operations, not just weekend loggers or casual sellers.

The Payout Plan: Quick Cash and Follow-Up Funds

The payment structure is designed to offer immediate relief followed by potential long-term support. Once the Secretary approves an application, the business gets an Initial Payment of up to $20,000 within 14 days. This is the quick cash for immediate operational needs. The Second Payment is calculated later, based on the business’s estimated revenue loss compared to the previous year, minus that initial $20,000. If the market doesn't improve, the program allows for Subsequent Payments for up to five more years, equal to 50% of the total received in the first two rounds. This long-term structure is designed to help businesses weather prolonged downturns.

What They Can Do With the Money

There are strict rules on how the money can be spent. Recipients can only use the funds for operational expenses (keeping the lights on, paying fuel bills) or for expanding access to another market opportunity. This means the money is aimed at survival and adaptation, not just padding the bottom line. For a small hauling company, this could mean the difference between parking their trucks and keeping their crew employed while they search for new contracts outside their usual region.

The Funding Mechanism: A Trade-Off

One of the most interesting parts of this bill is where the money comes from. The program is funded each fiscal year by an amount equal to the total anti-dumping and countervailing duties collected on softwood lumber articles imported from Canada. In essence, the fees collected on foreign lumber coming into the U.S. are being redirected to support domestic timber businesses when they face a crisis. This is a direct link between trade policy and domestic industry relief, meaning the program doesn’t rely on general taxpayer funds appropriated through the usual channels.