Region Archives: US West

Megan McKinnie

Megan McKinnie [was a] smokejumper, parachuting out of planes to fight wildfires for the U.S. Forest Service until she found out she was pregnant with twins. Today, McKinnie coordinates the flights at a nearby tanker base that drop retardant onto wildfires, while juggling her family. “I saw a lot of women that started families and ended up leaving the agency,” McKinnie says. Data collected by the Forest Service shows that most women firefighters leave the field six or seven years in, when many begin having kids. …McKinnie is part of the Forest Service’s new Women in Wildland Fire Advisory Council, formed to encourage more women to stay in the profession. Jamey Toland created the council almost a year ago, that includes 22 women across the country. They’re looking at solutions like daycares at Forest Service facilities, changing the agency’s pregnancy and postpartum fitness requirements for firefighters, and building all-women training camps.

The Oregon Department of Forestry investigates the cause of every fire it responds to and if someone is found to have been negligent or malicious in starting or spreading a significant fire, the agency pursues reimbursement for its firefighting costs. The agency has not been very successful in recouping those costs, according to a report discussed by the Emergency Fire Cost Committee. The account offered a rare glimpse into the scale of the costs and the efforts to recover them. But it only represented a snapshot of the problem, excluding a full list of all the fires the state is investigating or pursuing for reimbursement said forestry spokesperson, Jessica Neujahr. …The report showed the forestry department spent at least $24 million to respond to 36 significant fires caused or spread negligently or maliciously by people or groups since 2004, and that in pursuing reimbursement, it has collected just $86,000 from “responsible parties.”

Conservation advocates are prepared to sue over more than half of the timber sales Washington’s Board of Natural Resources approved on Tuesday, the latest flare-up in the fight over whether older trees on state-owned forestland should be spared from logging. The board approved a package of nine sales that would involve cutting roughly 1,200 acres of trees across western Washington, with minimum revenue expected to be around $13.8 million. Staff at the Department of Natural Resources put together plans for the sales and money generated would go largely to schools, counties, and public universities. Tacoma-based Legacy Forest Defense Coalition opposed five of the nine sales… “We’re probably going to appeal every single one”.

BOISE, Idaho — On Aug. 30, Idaho Forest Group and Kaniksu Land Trust put pen to paper to protect nearly 2,000 acres of North Idaho wilderness forever. In the deal, Idaho Forest Group donated the development rights for land along Prichard Creek, a tributary of the Coeur d’Alene River, to ensure the land is conserved for generations to come. “It’s a big deal,” said Regan Plumb, Kaniksu Land Trust conservation director. “To be able to protect almost an entire watershed and make sure that this stream is safe forever is really unique.” The agreement was conceived four years ago when Idaho Forest Group approached Kaniksu about gifting an easement for the area. Now, after years of paperwork and approvals, Kaniksu safeguards the right to develop or significantly subdivide the land — a privilege valued at $3 million.

As the gap between burned areas and replanting widens year after year, scientists see big challenges beyond where to put seedlings. The U.S. currently lacks the ability to collect enough seeds from living trees and the nursery capacity to grow seedlings for replanting on a scale anywhere close to stemming accelerating losses, researchers say. It also doesn’t have enough trained workers to plant and monitor trees. The Forest Service said the biggest roadblock to replanting on public land is completing environmental and cultural assessments and preparing severely burned areas so they’re safe to plant. That can take years — while more forests are lost to fire… 

After over a century of policies that prioritized fire suppression, unhealthy and overgrown forests are widespread across Eastern Washington. When a wildfire sweeps through these forests, which historically would experience periodic fires, they burn to a crisp because of decades of accumulated leaves, pine needles, shrubs and younger trees in the understory. Nevertheless, barriers and questions remain. Prescribed fire, an essential step in making forests more resilient to wildfire, has been thwarted by workforce shortages and regulatory roadblocks. Hundreds of thousands to millions of acres still need some kind of intervention to be restored to health… Forest resiliency scientists argue the treatments—if done at scale—have the potential to fundamentally change fire behavior in the state.

Major Alaska resource projects, and the land they could be built on, may be at stake in the presidential election. They include drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and elsewhere in Alaska, logging in the Tongass National Forest, and cutting a 200-mile road through Alaska wilderness to access the Ambler mining district… Trump could attempt to again repeal the Roadless Rule in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest to open up logging potential, undoing Biden’s reversal. But procedures and timelines may not leave much time for timber sales… More consequential for Alaska will be the next president’s position on climate change… If Harris wins, she’s expected to build on Biden policies that in Alaska support renewable energy and related efforts.

Active, science-based stewardship is crucial to protecting these forests. In areas where active management has been implemented, the data suggest old-growth forests have increased. This shows that careful and strategic timber harvesting, among other methods, is an important conservation tool… The timber industry has moved on from the timber wars. It no longer seeks, nor is it equipped to harvest and process the biggest and oldest trees to make the products we all use every day. Today’s industry is focused on maintaining the region’s leadership in advanced forestry and manufacturing green building products that store carbon for generations. Without healthy forests, there is no timber industry. If we truly care about the future of our old-growth forests, we must prioritize action over process.

Oregon’s forest and fire leaders were succinct in describing this year’s wildfire season to a group of Oregon senators. “It just won’t quit is essentially where we’re at, and our folks are really tired,” Kyle Williams, deputy director of fire operations at the Oregon Department of Forestry, told the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire on Tuesday. Williams and two others — Doug Graffe, Gov. Tina Kotek’s wildfire and military advisor; and Travis Medema, a chief deputy for the Oregon State Fire Marshal — told senators the state would likely wrap up its now five-monthlong fire season in mid-October, following a record 1.9 million acres burned. That’s nearly three times as many acres as the state’s 10-year average. Medema said projections from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, which coordinates wildfire resources, showed one or two more “significant event days” before the state is fully out of the 2024 wildfire season.

DENVER, Colorado – The Wildfire Matters Review Committee advanced bills to bolster the forestry workforce and improve wildfire prevention and mitigation strategies. Bill 2, sponsored by Representatives Tisha Mauro, D-Pueblo, and Ron Weinberg, R-Loveland, and Senators Janice Marchman, D-Loveland and Mark Baisley, R-Woodland Park, would grant landowners who allow access to their property during an emergency immunity from civil liability charges for damage or injury to people or property. …Sponsored by Senator Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County, Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs and Representative Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, as well as Marchman, Bill 3 would support outreach programs to bolster the forestry workforce. The bill would direct Colorado State University to develop outreach programs to build skills and forestry career awareness, and to promote degree programs in forestry. Additionally, it would require the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to provide grants for firefighter and trainer certification.

BELLVUE, Colo. — Camille Stevens-Rumann, interim director at the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute and her research team are monitoring several species planted two years ago on a slope burned during the devastating 2020 Cameron Peak fire, which charred 326 square miles (844 square kilometers) in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. They want to determine which species are likely to survive at various elevations, because climate change makes it difficult or impossible for many forests to regrow even decades after wildfires. As the gap between burned areas and replanting widens year after year, scientists see big challenges beyond where to put seedlings. The U.S. currently lacks the ability to collect enough seeds from living trees and the nursery capacity to grow seedlings for replanting on a scale anywhere close to stemming accelerating losses, researchers say. It also doesn’t have enough trained workers to plant and monitor trees.

The Oregon Department of Forestry is getting help from the state’s general fund to pay its bills after a record wildfire season. The Legislative Emergency Board voted Wednesday to send $47.5 million to the forestry department to help cover the costs of the 2024 wildfire season. Spending on wildfires so far this year has topped nearly $250 million, about 2.5 times the amount budgeted for the forestry department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office for wildfire response. …About half of the $47.5 million was previously earmarked for a potentially expensive wildfire season, while $20 million was appropriated as emergency funding by the board. There have been more than 2,000 fires this year that have scorched nearly 2 million acres – a record in the state and more than three times the 10-year average for acres burned. Gov. Tina Kotek has invoked the Conflagration Act 17 times this year – a new record. 

The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to auction off almost 500 acres of forestland on Thursday to log dead or dying trees. But, one conservationist says many of the trees are actually healthy. The Boaz and Forest Creek timber sales in the Applegate Valley are meant to harvest Douglas fir trees impacted by recent outbreaks of invasive beetles and drought. The Medford BLM said trees were marked for removal based on criteria developed with Oregon State University scientists to identify which trees are dead or dying. But Luke Ruediger, executive director of the Applegate Siskiyou Alliance, said a number of the areas proposed for logging don’t meet the BLM’s criteria for dead and dying trees. “The BLM is clearly manipulating the public’s concern around beetles to implement clearcut logging in previously controversial stands that have been opposed by the public,” Ruediger said.

Oregon Department of Forestry is reminding Oregonians that with weather fluctuating across the state, fire is still on the landscape and fire season is still in effect.  Oregon is still experiencing one of the worst seasons seen in the past decade, and the ODF warns the public against complacency. “East winds are very common around this time of year, making now the time to prevent the next large wildfire. There is still potential for more fire starts and the season isn’t over yet.”said Chris Cline, Fire Protection Division Chief. “The fewer human-caused fires we have, the less strained our resources will be.”

Green groups on Friday pointed to the more than 1 million public comments urging the U.S. Forest Service to protect old-growth forests from logging in urging the Biden administration to increase what critics say are inadequate protections for mature trees in a proposed federal amendment. The Forest Service (USFS)—a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture—received massive input during four rounds of public comment on the National Old-Growth Amendment Draft Environmental Impact Statement.  A joint statement was issued by a coalition of green groups including the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Earthjustice, Environment America Research and Policy Center, National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and WildEarth Guardians.

PORTLAND, Oregon — The Oregon Department of Forestry needs emergency funding to pay for the most expensive wildfire season in state history, with record-high costs of $250 million and counting. As of mid-September, more than 1.9 million acres of land had burned across Oregon — nearly double the acreage burned in the notorious 2020 wildfire season, and far above any other year in ODF’s recorded history. …Kyle Williams, ODF’s deputy director for fire operations… “Just because the smoke wasn’t present in our more populated areas doesn’t mean that (wildfires) weren’t deeply impactful.” ODF has now exhausted its funds. In order to pay firefighters and contractors, the department is returning to its usual process of acquiring more money from the state — except this time, it may not be enough. …ODF is asking for $47.5 million from the E-Board this September, including a request for $40 million from the board’s general fund.

In a typical year, the agency hires more than 1,000 summer workers for temporary roles in Oregon and Washington’s federal forests The U.S. Forest Service says it won’t be hiring temporary seasonal workers next summer, citing a tight budget for the coming year. The agency will still hire seasonal staff to fight fires, but temporary summer hires for all other roles — like building trails, conducting archaeological surveys and doing engineering work – are on hold. The Forest Service has also rescinded some job offers it’s made, and is limiting decisions around other permanent staff positions, senior leaders told workers in a briefing this week. The agency hires seasonal workers to staff 11 national forests in Oregon and five in Washington. It usually hires thousands of additional summer workers in other forests across the country. Leaving those roles unfilled is a move the public could notice when warm weather returns.

American Forests is working around the clock to rebuild forests ravaged by fires. On Sept. 5, American Forests, in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, launched a significant reforestation initiative in Eldorado National Forest, located in Peavine Ridge, California. This effort is part of a broader strategy to address the critical reforestation needs in the Northern Sierras, where American Forests has been intensifying its cone collection activities. The urgency of these efforts cannot be overstated. The 2024 wildfire season in California has already surpassed the five-year average in terms of burned area. According to the U.S. Forest Service, national forests alone require restoration across at least 3.6 million acres. To address the 1.5 million acres in need of reforestation statewide, the U.S. must significantly ramp up its seed collection efforts. Without an adequate seed supply, wildfires will continue to outstrip our replanting capabilities. Fortunately, 2024 has brought a promising increase in cone production. 

OREGON – As the weather gets cooler and wetter, the Oregon Department of Forestry is reminding people that this year’s historic fire season is not over just yet. Jessica Neujahr, public affairs officer with ODF, said recent rains have helped moderate fire behavior, allowing crews to make progress on containing numerous blazes across the state. Though the precipitation has not been enough to saturate fuels dried by this summer’s heat and eliminate any potential for fire. “We’re in a stage of season where we’re really trying to just remind people to check the conditions and not the calendar,” she said. “It might seem like we’re in a good space, but when you actually look at the conditions, we’re stilling having really dry fuels. We’re not getting those wetting rains yet.”

TRUCKEE, Calif. – Last week, the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF) awarded a $1 million grant to the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment—the biggest grant that TTCF has directed in its history. The money will go towards the Sierra Institute’s Mosaic Timber operation to help thin the area’s overcrowded forests, create a forest economy, and offer a new building material called Cross-Laminated Timber. Stacy Caldwell, CEO of TTCF was excited about the scale and impact of the grant that they awarded to the Sierra Institute. “We’ve been building trust with them over the years, seeing what they’re doing, supporting them with different, smaller grants along the way,” said Caldwell. “We’re just really confident about the solutions they have been offering.” …However, this biomass that is removed needs to go somewhere. Without nearby milling factories, money needs to be spent to ship the lumber to processing facilities. 

With the state facing an estimated $45.8 million in wildfire expenses so far this season, Idaho Gov. Brad Little and other state officials are discussing the need to replenish the fund before next year. During the last legislative session, the state pre-funded its emergency fire suppression fund at about $68 million, Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller said Tuesday. Miller briefed Little and other state officials Tuesday during a meeting of the State Board of Land Examiners at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. So far this year, the state has spent an estimated $51.1 million, about $5.2 million of which is reimbursable costs, Miller said. That leaves the state on the hook for about $45.8 million so far. …The Idaho Legislature will decide whether to approve additional pre-funding for the emergency fire suppression fund once the 2025 legislative session convenes in January.

HELENA, Mont. – Joining Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Director Amanda Kaster, Governor Greg Gianforte highlighted the impact of the state’s investments in fuel reduction and fire suppression efforts this fire season. Through $60 million in funding secured when Gov. Gianforte signed House Bill 883 into law, the state is prepared now more than ever before to increase the pace and scale of forest and wildfire management. “…many fires have been prevented or suppressed through our investments in an aggressive initial attack and through new technology,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Our increased resources have made a noticeable difference this season, allowing us to catch fires before they become visible.” With the additional funding, DNRC has expanded its wildfire prevention and suppression efforts by using cutting-edge technology to find fires before they show visible smoke, securing additional equipment to fight fires faster, and addressing forest health through fuel reduction work.

WASHINGTON STATE — Sherwood State Forest in Washington’s Mason County escaped the industrial clear-cutting that transformed much of the Northwest last century. …Last year, those islands of protected forest shrank even further as Washington’s Department of Natural Resources auctioned off rights to log almost 160 acres of Sherwood Forest, located about 40 miles southwest of Seattle. …This story is hardly unique. Throughout Western Washington, pockets of state forestlands that were logged in the early 1900s have regrown into ecosystems that sequester tons of carbon and serve as valuable wildlife habitat. …These regrown forests also represent a potential bonanza for timber companies, however, and they don’t benefit from protections given to most old growth on state lands. …A paper published last year by the independent research nonprofit Resources for the Future found mature forests sequester more carbon than younger trees do.