Region Archives: United States

In an effort to save two subspecies of spotted owls from extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released its Draft Barred Owl Management Strategy and accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Statement in November 2023. …In the past two decades, some spotted owl populations have declined by over 75 percent, in large part due to competition for territory and food from the barred owl… Lethal control of the barred owl is essential to preserving the spotted owl, according to the USFWS strategy. It contains six proposed management alternatives: five are varied approaches to lethal control of barred owls, and one is to take no action. Lethal control means targeted shooting by experienced removal specialists who meet the strict criteria of the Service. “This is not public hunting,” says Robin Bown, the barred owl management strategy lead for USFWS. “This is not allowing people to go out hunting these birds.”

California officials have agreed to invest about $3 million in public funds on 7,500 acres located on the forested northeastern slopes of Mt. Shasta. But don’t expect the area to change much in the coming years. There aren’t plans for any new developments, ski resorts, mining or clear-cut logging on the property. The money is being used to set up a conservation easement that ensures the area is protected from development. The nonprofit Pacific Forest Trust, which will manage the property, says the aim of the project is to improve wildlife habitat, provide for public recreation and local jobs, improve forest health and reduce wildland fire danger. …Some 2,700 acres of the project will be managed solely to benefit wildlife habitat, including 250 “imperiled” species, including gray wolf, Pacific fisher and Pacific marten.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday that it is devoting more resources to processing outstanding claims filed by victims of the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history. The 2022 blaze was caused by a pair of prescribed fires that were set by the U.S. Forest Service in an attempt to clear out vegetation to reduce the threat of a catastrophic wildfire. Officials have acknowledged that they underestimated the dry conditions that had been plaguing the region for years. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and mountains were charred, leaving behind damage that experts say will have environmental effects for decades to come. …The agency has received $518 million in claims and has approved $330 million in payments so far for people with losses. The federal government set aside nearly $4 billion last year to pay claims related to the wildfire. Lawsuits have been filed by residents who say FEMA has been slow to pay their claims.

A Portland jury on Tuesday awarded nine survivors of Oregon’s 2020 Labor Day fires a total of $85 million in the latest court case against utility PacifiCorp. The award came after a “mini-trial” that lasted a little more than two weeks and was the first in a series to determine compensation for roughly 5,000 fire victims impacted by four megafires that burned thousands of homes and wrought widespread damage. …In June of 2023, a Multnomah County jury found PacifiCorp at fault for the ignition and spread of the Santiam-Beachie, Echo Mountain, South Obenchain and 242 fires. In that first case, the jury awarded $90 million to 17 wildfire survivors. …The next mini-trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 26 and seeks compensation for another nine survivors of the fires, along with the Upward Bound Camp for Individuals with Special Needs in Gates. …The third damages trial is set for April 22 and would include timber companies whose land was burned in the fires.

Heaps of ladybugs recently turned branches, leaves and patches of trees along a Santa Monica Mountains trail into a moving jumble of red wings and tiny black dots. A cold spell may be the reason for the pileup, said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “They don’t produce their own body heat,” she said. “So, they group together to try to stay warm. Also, it helps in finding mates.” Anderson, based in Los Angeles, said the phenomenon isn’t unusual. People spot the masses of ladybugs – called aggregations – often during cold times of the year.

It was disappointing to read that the Power Plant timber sale has been canceled and that a portion of the sale area was nominated for the Natural Climate Solutions program. This cancellation occurred after thorough vetting by DNR staff and the dismissal of two lawsuits against the sale. Now the DNR must find an equivalent amount of volume elsewhere to replace timber already sold. If the Clallam County commissioners concur with the nomination, one end result will be a reduction of working lands in Clallam County. Climate change is a global problem and removing lands from production in our state will do little to solve the climate crisis. …If timber production is reduced in Washington, others will supply our world’s wood products at a greater cost to the climate and at a loss to our local economy. …County commissioners should reject the climate solutions nomination and support local businesses and districts that rely on timber sales.

Two controversial timber sales in Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley were postponed for a third time by the federal Bureau of Land Management on Monday. The proposed Late Mungers and Penn Butte timber sales would open up over 800 acres of forest in the Applegate Valley to commercial logging. The auctions were scheduled to take place Jan. 25, but were abruptly rescheduled for April 25. These sales, that include old-growth forest, have been fought since at least 2022 by environmental groups that argue commercial logging will increase wildfire risk and that the plan has gone ahead without proper environmental review. …According to the BLM, the project will reduce forest density which will help slow the spread of wildfires. Sullivan said the agency has been getting more requests from logging companies to delay timber sales until closer to when logging would begin in May.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service are soliciting comments and feedback on the creation of new management policies for old-growth forests across the county. …Andrew Sánchez Meador, executive director of the Ecological Restoration Institute based out of Northern Arizona University, said he believes the effort represents a positive shift in how old-growth forests are managed. …Within the national forest southwestern region, which includes the Coconino and Kaibab national forests as well as several others across Arizona and New Mexico, nearly 14% of forested areas fit the definition for old growth. The primary threat to that remaining old-growth forest was identified by federal officials as catastrophic wildfire. …The Ecological Restoration Institute assisted the initial effort back in 2022, and Sánchez Meador said they hoped to emphasize differences in necessary management strategies based on the type of forest.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Ecologists have long known that standing dead trees, commonly referred to as snags, are an important habitat element for forest dwellers and act as a driver of biodiversity. They’re so important that in some managed forests, snag creation is part of the conservation tool kit – i.e., crews sometimes convert a percentage of live trees into dead ones through techniques ranging from sawing off their tops to wounding their trunks to injecting them with disease-causing fungi. …How well do any of those techniques actually work over the long term? And which ones are cost-effective for land managers seeking to enhance habitat? Jim Rivers of the Oregon State University College of Forestry looked at nearly 800 large-diameter Douglas-fir trees that had been subjected to snag creation treatment in southwestern Oregon in the early 2000s. 

DENVER, CO – The House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee today passed legislation to expand wildfire prevention efforts through community education. HB24-1024, sponsored by Representatives Tammy Story and Elizabeth Velasco, passed by a vote of 10-2. “When it comes to reducing wildfire risk, we need every Coloradan, whether they live in the foothills, forested areas or rural areas, to know how they can protect their homes and businesses,” said Rep. Tammy Story, D-Conifer. “This legislation ensures communities receive information on effective wildfire mitigation strategies, such as reducing vegetation and fire fuels within 5 feet of our homes. Combating wildfires begins with good mitigation, and this bill also continues the Colorado State Forest Service’s efforts to educate Coloradans about these effective strategies.”

MONTANA — Concerns that public lands proposed for trade to landowners along the east side of the Crazy Mountains will be developed were raised during an objection resolution meeting hosted by the Forest Service. Sweet Grass Creek zigs and zags through a valley that’s now difficult for the public to access because of the checkerboard private land ownership in the Crazy Mountains. Twelve individuals, half of which represented state or regional conservation groups, aired their grievances regarding the land exchange tentatively approved last year. In an attempt to consolidate public and private lands in the mountain range and near Big Sky, the exchange offers 3,855 acres of federal land for 6,110 acres of private property owned by six different parties. …Although the Forest Service did add restrictions to protect some of its exchanged parcels following public concerns, objectors said the agency didn’t go far enough.

Nick Smith

In December, Biden announced policy to conserve old growth forests on federal lands. The policy caps a nearly two-year process … including defining, inventorying and assessing the greatest threats to the nation’s old growth. … The threat of commercial logging was determined to be negligible. …This assessment could have provided momentum to implement a 10-year wildfire strategy… Instead, the Forest Service was directed to amend all 128 forest land management plans to “conserve and steward” old-growth forest conditions nationwide. The agency will attempt to amend these disparate plans through a single Environmental Impact Statement before Biden’s first term is over. …Rather than giving our public lands managers the policy tools and support they need to sustain our forests and all the values they provide, such “paperwork protection” of old growth forests forces public lands managers to focus on more government bureaucracy that does little to address the real risks on the ground.