Region Archives: United States

OREGON — Significant efforts are underway across coastal privately-owned forestlands due to changes in the Private Forest Accord (PFA) of 2022.  Forest managers bear the responsibility for not only trees, but also roads, bridges, and streams. …Forest engineers start researching and designing harvest plans two years before a scheduled harvest. Foresters traverse the terrain, identify water resources, steep gradients, soil conditions, and habitat characteristics. Collaboration with wildlife biologists, hydrologists, and other specialists is commonplace in formulating these plans. …The Private Forest Accord (PFA) of 2022 announced updates to existing forest practices, including rules that related to the construction and maintenance of forest roads. Although professional foresters and logging crews are accustomed to regulation and meticulous harvest prescriptions, the revisions brought about by the PFA introduce a more intricate framework with set timelines for implementation.

SALEM, Oregon — Timber companies and some county governments are lamenting the defeat of legislation requiring Oregon officials to set and meet logging targets on state forestlands. Supporters say House Bill 4106 would have simply required transparency and accountability in state forest management without weakening environmental protections. …However, environmental groups are warning the proposal would’ve spurred court challenges against state officials for falling short of timber harvest projections, undermining their ability to adjust to shifting on-the-ground circumstances. “This bill creates a new right for the timber industry to sue the state over its timber harvest plans,” said Michael Lang, of the Wild Salmon Center. …The bill’s supporters simply want state forest officials provide an estimate of harvest levels. …Opponents allege that HB 4106 would force state forest officials to justify every conservation-oriented constraint and provide timber companies with a “back door” to challenge the HCP’s implementation.

Xochitl Torres Small & Heather Dawn Thompson

WASHINGTON — The Department of Agriculture Forest Service will distribute $20 million in grant funding to help tribes access private markets for forest resilience and climate mitigation that have emerged in the wake of climate change. Federally recognized tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, and Alaska Native villages will be eligible for the resultant competitive grant program. The grants were announced earlier today by Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small during the winter session of the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C. …Grants may support activities such as forest management plan development, reforestation, and biodiversity protection. …“Tribal practices support resilient forests and land management for the benefit of future generations,” Torres Small said. …Carbon sequestration, in particular, has become an increasingly popular method of turning sustainability into profitability for tribes.

EVERETT, Washington — For some in the climate community, any change that occurs in the environment can be blamed on climate change. An example of this is the Feb. 3 commentary in the Weekend Herald, “Fossil fuels throwing gas on wildfires,” by Paul Roberts. Roberts overlooks the major factor, fuel load, concerning the increase in acres burned in recent decades, to focus on a relatively minor factor, a slight increase in temperature due to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. The 900-pound gorilla in the room is the dramatic increase in our nation’s wildlands fuel load. …By implementing commercial and non-commercial thinning operations where needed on federal and state lands and by sponsoring and encouraging the reestablishment of a modest forest products industry we could greatly improve the fire resistance of our nations forest. …I suggest we focus on the crux of the wildfire issue, fuel load, which we have the capability to address.

LOS ANGELES — Southern California Edison will pay $80 million to settle claims on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service connected to a massive wildfire that destroyed more than a thousand homes and other structures in 2017, federal prosecutors said Monday. The utility agreed to the settlement on Friday without admitting wrongdoing or fault in connection with the Thomas fire, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Investigations found utility equipment sparked the fire in two canyon locations on Dec. 4, 2017. The Thomas fire, which burned across 439 square miles (1,137 square kilometers) in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, is the seventh largest blaze in California history, according to state fire officials. The settlement is a “reasonable resolution,” said Gabriela Ornelas, a spokesperson for Southern California Edison. …The utility has also settled claims related to the enormous Woolsey fire in 2018. Edison estimated in 2021 that total expected losses for both blazes would exceed $4.5 billion.