Timber sales from national forest lands through the third quarter of this year are the lowest in several decades, according to the American Forest & Paper Association.

The U.S. Forest Service reported cumulative timber sales volume of 1.24 billion board feet, including only 717 million board feet of sawtimber.

This year’s catastrophic wildfires in the Western U.S. no doubt played a major role in the low sale offerings, the AF&PA noted.

However, the association added that Clinton administration policies, such as the proposed planning rules, road management and transportation system rulemaking, and roadless-area protection proposal also have had an adverse impact on timber sales.