Region Archives: US West

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In Oregon’s Blue Mountains, patches of dying trees once looked like separate outbreaks, scattered across ridges and drainages as if disease had struck at random. Instead, scientists found something far stranger beneath the soil: many of those distant pockets belonged to the same fungus. That fungus, Armillaria ostoyae, covered about 9.65 square kilometers, making it the largest known individual fungus on Earth at the time of the study. It had likely been growing there for at least 1,900 years, and possibly as long as 8,650. For researchers, the discovery did more than set a record. It challenged a basic biological idea: what counts as an individual. “It’s one organism that began as a microscopic spore and then grew vegetatively, like a plant,” said Dr. Catherine Parks, a research plant pathologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and coordinator of the team.

©USForestService

The U.S. Forest Service announced Friday that it has signed a five-year agreement to work with the state of South Dakota to carry out projects on national forest and adjacent land, possibly including timber harvesting, prescribed burning, forest thinning, grazing, and habitat and watershed restoration. …The shared stewardship agreement is between the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Forest Service. It follows similar agreements in other states and comes after President Donald Trump’s executive order last year calling for an “immediate expansion” of American timber production. Following the initial five-year term, the agreement may be extended in increments of three years. …Specific projects involving money, services, property or other resources would require separate agreements and approvals. …“I’m suspicious that the primary reason for it is to help the Forest Service get more trees cut,” Dave Mertz, a retired Black Hills National Forest natural resource officer, said.

Harriet Hageman

Rep. Harriet Hageman wants to stop future administrations from reinstating a 25-year-old policy that prevents roadbuilding on 59 million acres of the national forest, including 3.3 million acres of federal land in Wyoming. A rescission of the Clinton-era 2001 Roadless Rule is already underway. In June 2025, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced her intention to repeal the “roadless” class of land that’s found on nine national forests in Wyoming. Subsequently, Rollins solicited public comment on that plan, which, based on the responses, is extraordinarily unpopular. More than 99% of the 200,000-plus people and groups who responded opposed the proposed rescission, according to a Center for Western Priorities analysis. A Hageman-led bill, House Resolution 7695, would codify the Trump administration’s undoing of the Roadless Rule in law and also prevent it from reappearing. The legislation states that any future secretary of agriculture “may not take any action to propose, finalize, implement, administer, or enforce any rule substantially similar to the rule.” 

With Oregon facing what state leaders say could be another difficult wildfire season, questions are emerging about whether major changes inside the U.S. Forest Service could eventually impact how quickly fires are detected and attacked across the West. “All indications suggest a more challenging fire season ahead of all of us,” said Oregon Governor Tina Kotek… The warning comes after a historically warm winter, low snowpack levels, and worsening drought conditions across parts of Oregon. At the same time, the Forest Service is undergoing major national restructuring efforts, including consolidating research facilities and closing its nine regional offices nationwide. …Still, federal firefighters and local fire leaders say they do not expect major disruptions to wildfire response this season. “I think there’s just a growing amount of apprehension about what it’s gonna look like on the ground level in a couple of years’ time,” said Kieran Evans, a squad leader with the Forest Service.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.  – On Wednesday, May 20, Lake Tahoe Community College broke ground on a nearly 100,000-square-foot Tahoe Basin Public Safety Training Complex, the first facility of its kind in the Tahoe Basin dedicated to training firefighters, forestry professionals, emergency medical technicians, and other first responders. …The facility is scheduled to open in fall 2027. The complex will include a multi-story training tower with live-fire capability, more than two acres of training tarmac, a 7,000-square-foot equipment storage facility, and multiple training hydrants with a water reclamation system. It will support the college’s Fire Academy, Fire Science, Forestry Education, Emergency Medical Services, and Search and Rescue programs. The project is funded through $17 million in state, federal, and local support, including California Community Colleges’ Fire and Forestry Pathways funding, its voter-approved Measure F bond, and federal appropriations.

Colorado’s top forest health concern is a mountain pine beetle outbreak on the Front Range that has expanded by nearly 150% from 2024 to 2025, according to a Colorado State Forest Service report. The report shows the continued spread of mountain pine beetles and other forest insects during the second consecutive year of above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation. Trees in forests across Colorado are stressed following a record warm winter and low snowpack, and infestations of bark beetles and western spruce budworm are expected to intensify and expand. “Heat and drought are stressing our forests, turning many areas into tinderboxes and making it harder for trees to fight off bark beetles and other insects,” said Matt McCombs, state forester and director of the CSFS. …Trees killed by drought, insects or disease can potentially alter wildfire behavior should there be ignition from lightning or other sources. 

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is awarding $3.75 million to Lostine Forest in Wallowa County and $5.56 million to Madrone Ridge Forest in Jackson County. The Senators secured this federal funding in the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior-Environment Appropriations Act through the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the Forest Legacy Program. These Oregon projects will help conserve nearly 12,000 acres of working forestland, improve wildfire resilience, protect fish and wildlife habitat, and expand public recreation opportunities. …Through its Forest Legacy Program, the USFS partners with states, Tribes, and local organizations to conserve privately owned working forestlands through conservation easements and land acquisitions. These two awards in Oregon are part of a larger $80 million investment provided by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior-Environment Appropriations Act to support 15 projects conserving more than 34,000 acres of working forests in 11 states.

More than 400 mostly small communities throughout the Northwest, including Cave Junction, Glendale and La Pine in southern and central Oregon, are at greater risk of suffering from wildfires and their impacts than previously thought when socioeconomic conditions are factored into risk assessments, new research finds. Researchers from Oregon State University and The Nature Conservancy, with funding from the U.S. Forest Service, conducted a review of wildfire risks in more than 1,000 communities in the region, and applied a social vulnerability index to also account for factors such as household demographics, neighborhood structural density, housing types and local transportation. Nearly half the communities, 459, were shown to be at greater wildfire risk than previously thought. For 541 communities, risk levels declined when socioeconomic factors were considered, indicating public dollars might be better served assisting low-income communities with wildfire prevention than more affluent ones, the researchers suggested.

…The mild temperatures through the winter and now into spring have resulted in the invasive emerald ash borer maturing faster and emerging weeks earlier than usual, the Oregon Department of Forestry says. Wyatt Williams, an invasive species specialist with the department, confirmed he found one in early May in King City in southeast Washington County, a news release states. …So far there’s no cure for a tree infested with the bugs – they’re a death sentence, the Extension Service says. It can take up to six years for an infested tree to die. …Ash borers normally start emerging from inside tree trunks in early June and into July, Oregon forestry officials say. But that’s changing along with the climate. This past winter was tied with 1934 as the warmest on record in western Oregon, followed by record-breaking or near record-breaking high temperatures this spring, the state said in a statement.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources released its annual Forest Health Highlights report on Monday following a 2025 survey season defined by a period of unprecedented structural and administrative challenges. The joint aerial detection survey (ADS) flown by DNR and USDA Forest Service (USFS) staff covered 16.5 million acres of forested land across Washington, accounting for roughly 75% of the 22 million forested acres in the state and the first time since 2021 that a full survey was not completed. …The 2025 ADS recorded some level of tree mortality, defoliation, crown damage, or foliar disease on approximately 391,000 acres – a decrease of more than 150,000 acres from 2024, but certain to be an undercount given limitations of the 2025 survey.

A new direction in the Tongass management plan gathered more than 300 comments from Southeast Alaskans, who asked the U.S. Forest Service to manage timber and mining, along with recreation, in the forest they call home. The Coeur Alaska Kensington Mine said the revised plan should recognize the Tongass National Forest as a mining district, not solely as a timber or conservation reserve. “The revised Forest Plan should affirm that responsible mineral exploration and development are fully compatible with ecological stewardship, subsistence values, and multiple use when properly planned and regulated,” wrote Steve Ball, general manager of the mine. He also wrote Forest Service’s Roadless Area Conservation Rule prohibitions should not be applied to mining operations. Others criticized the Trump administration and made a plea to protect old-growth forests and the wildlife that live there. Some criticized the Forest Service itself for a rushed process.

TILLAMOOK, Ore. — More than 100 adults in custody are undergoing hands-on wildland firefighting training this week at the South Fork Forest Camp near Tillamook as part of a long-standing partnership between the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon Department of Corrections. The training prepares participants to deploy to active fires as soon as they complete certification, bolstering the state’s wildfire response capacity ahead of fire season. The training combines classroom instruction with physically demanding field exercises designed to simulate real wildfire conditions. Derek Gasperini, a public affairs officer with the Oregon Department of Forestry, said the crews play a critical role once fires are contained. …The South Fork Forest Camp is the oldest and largest work camp of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. Since 1951, it has trained adults in custody to assist with fire suppression and forest management while preparing them for reintegration into society.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Coast redwoods and giant sequoias can inspire awe long before landowners consider soil, rainfall, wildlife damage, markets or Oregon forest practice laws. For some Oregonians, the appeal is personal. The trees are iconic, long-lived and striking. They can be planted for beauty, experimentation, conservation, timber, biodiversity or interest in how forests may adapt to a changing climate. But planting them in Oregon also raises practical questions: Will they grow well on a given site? Are they appropriate after timber harvest? Can they meet tax-deferral or cost-share requirements? What happens if a coast redwood, known for vigorous resprouting, becomes part of a forest for the long term? To help small woodland owners and others think through those decisions, Oregon State University Extension Service foresters developed Growing redwood and giant sequoia in Oregon: A resource guide for small woodland owners, published in October 2025.

EUGENE Ore.  – The Bureau of Land Management has proposed increasing timber harvest on 2.4 million acres of federal forest land in Oregon, sparking a renewed debate over logging, wildfire risk and the future of old growth forests. The plan would return harvest levels to 1 billion board feet annually on O&C Lands (Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands), about four times last year’s yield. Supporters say it would restore jobs and reduce fire danger. Environmental groups warn it could undo decades of protections and say they will challenge the plan in federal court. The O&C Lands are checkerboarded across western Oregon. Once owned by railroad barons, the government reclaimed the land over 100 years ago and opened it up to logging. After new environmental protections were implemented in the 1990s, logging levels plummeted. Last year those same lands yielded about a quarter of the proposed target.

LAKE TAHOE BASIN, Calif. – A yearlong investigation by Mother Jones is casting new scrutiny on the use of glyphosate in California forests at the same time the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit plans to use the controversial herbicide across thousands of acres in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Glyphosate, commonly sold under the brand name Roundup, is widely used to kill shrubs and hardwood vegetation that compete with replanted conifers after fires and logging operations. However, the herbicide has long been controversial. In 2015, the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization classified glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen,” and manufacturer Bayer has paid more than $12 billion in settlements tied to lawsuits alleging the herbicide caused cancer.