From left: Jamie Coleman of Robert S. Coleman Lumber; EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin; Virginia Forest Products Association's Susan Seward; and Virginia Division of Forestry's Keith Marshall.

Culpeper, Va.—EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited R.S. Coleman Lumber Company in Culpeper, Virginia, on Friday as part of the agency’s Great American Comeback initiative, a nationwide effort to highlight and support American manufacturing. The visit drew attention to the challenges facing the U.S. hardwood industry, which has lost 40,000 jobs since 2022 and seen 35 sawmills close in 2026 alone.

During the visit, Administrator Zeldin toured the facility and met with mill workers and industry leaders to hear firsthand about the pressures facing domestic hardwood manufacturers, including foreign competition and the displacement of solid wood products by cheap, chemical-laden substitutes made overseas.

“America’s hardwood and lumber industry is critical to our infrastructure as well as our building and manufacturing sectors,” Zeldin said. “I was honored to visit R.S. Coleman Lumber Company today and see firsthand the important work they do to support the northern Virginia economy. Family-owned businesses like this not only create good paying jobs but are part of the fabric of communities like Culpeper.”

“American hardwood is natural, durable, and healthier for people and the environment—especially more so than substitute products made of plastics and chemicals,” said Jamie Coleman, vice president of the R.S. Coleman Lumber Company sawmill. “We thank Administrator Zeldin for promoting our industry, workers, and contributions to America’s manufacturing economy. And if this administration can help us unlock greater market access, the sky is the limit.”

“Alongside this administration, Administrator Zeldin is exactly right to be paying attention to the American hardwood industry. It’s a make-or-break year,” said Dallin Brooks, executive director of the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA). “One American mill is closing every week because foreign substitute products are undercutting us with toxic chemicals, unfair trade practices, government subsidies, and little to no regulation costs. We look forward to working with this administration to protect American consumers and promote American-sourced and manufactured hardwood products.”

The hardwood industry supports more than 300,000 jobs across rural America, producing the oak floors, walnut furniture, maple cabinets, railroad ties, and military pallets that American homes, businesses, and defense operations depend on. Without intervention, the industry's current decline is projected to leave the United States dependent on foreign mills for hardwood by 2031.

NHLA is working with the administration and Congress on a range of solutions, including procurement reform, trade remedies targeting foreign subsidies, and Farm Bill provisions to support rural sawmill economics.