Region Archives: US West

Though population and housing density have been rising in the river valleys between Yellowstone National Park and Cody, Wyoming for decades, some of the recent growth may be thanks in part to the television show “Yellowstone,” starring Kevin Costner. The show… made owning a piece of this landscape glamorous around the same time the pandemic and remote work drove more people to do so. …Mounting development is a grave threat, carving up an ecosystem that must stay relatively intact to function. …Plenty of the new construction is in towns… but some is well outside population centers, and it displaces wildlife. …What we are up against now is time, and the desire of so many people to have a piece of “Yellowstone’s” America. The question is whether Americans’ obsession with the fictional Yellowstone will contribute to the destruction of the real one, or help fuel bold action and investment to save it. [Full access to this story requires a subscription to the New York Times]

Natalie Whitesel

Oregon’s current approach to wildfire budgeting is inherently incompatible with the level of risk it faces in a changing climate. In fact, the damages … are only likely to get worse. The solution? A carbon price. Making polluters pay corrects a long-standing market inefficiency, shifting the burden of wildfire costs from the shoulders of taxpayers back on to the responsible party: large carbon emitters. …In Oregon, modestly pricing the carbon emissions … could generate an additional $3 billion annually, providing ample resources to fund the state’s wildfire response efforts… A carbon price wouldn’t stop the world from warming. It’s too late for that. Climate change is here, it’s impacting Oregonians – their homes, their land, their lives – and it’s expensive. Adopting a carbon tax could alleviate Oregon’s wildfire funding woes, set the stage for better budgeting and ensure a safer, more resilient Oregon for years to come by making the polluters pay.

Scientists have confirmed that—a massive forest of quaking aspen trees in Utah known as Pando—is between 16,000 and 80,000 years old, solidifying its place among the planet’s most ancient organisms. The forest, whose Latin name means “I spread,” is a single living thing: one tree that has cloned itself tens of thousands of times. Spanning 42.6 hectares of Utah’s Fishlake National Forest, Pando consists of approximately 47,000 individual stems all connected by a single, vast root system. “Pando looks like a normal forest,” said William Ratcliff, an evolutionary biologist at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and co-author of the study. “But while the trees last only about 200 years, they continually regenerate from the root system, which kind of lives forever.” Pando has unique genetic makeup. The tree is triploid, meaning its cells contain three copies of each chromosome instead of the usual two.

Tara Umphries

PORTLAND, Ore. — Tara Umphries, a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in the U.S. Forest Service, has been appointed as the new Forest Supervisor for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Umphries, who has served as Acting Forest Supervisor since July 15, will officially take over the position on December 1, following her tenure in the Rocky Mountain Region as a Special Assistant to the Regional Forester, where she concentrated on Shared Stewardship and the Wildfire Crisis Strategy. …Umphries began her career in wildland fire in 2002 as a wildland firefighter, progressively advancing to key leadership roles, including Fuels Program Manager for the Willamette National Forest and Fire Planner for the Pacific Northwest’s Region 6. She also served as District Ranger on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, where her work further solidified her reputation for partnership building and proactive fire management strategies. 

SEATTLE — As candidate for Commissioner of Public Lands, Republican Jaime Hererra-Beutler has consistently asserted that, according to “the science,” it’s necessary to log our legacy forests to keep them from “burning up.” She asserts that “too many of our forests have been undermanaged or outright neglected, and they’ve turned into crowded, diseased tinderboxes, just waiting for a spark.” They’ve “fallen into disrepair,” she says, and need “cleaning up.” But is it true? Is there really a scientific consensus saying so? And what type of forest is she talking about? Washington is a big state. Legacy forests are identified only on the west side of the state and then only below 3,500 feet. There, you have to differentiate between forests that are naturally regenerated (legacy forests) and those already converted to timber plantations (managed plantations).

The western U.S. has a debt to pay, one that has been piling up interest for over a hundred years. “If there’s an accumulation of fuel, it’s due for a fire. It’s a fire debt,” said Danny Whatley, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service. “If you don’t pay it this year, it’s due next year. And if you forego, it’s just a bigger debt every year you put it off.” Western forests want to burn. Decades of federal fire suppression policies aimed at extinguishing all blazes have allowed forests to grow dangerously dense creating conditions for wildfires to get out of control. Many of the estimated 99 million people living near overgrown forests are now coming to accept this wildfire paradox – that more fire is how they make payment and save the place they love.

DNA samples from one of the world’s largest and oldest plants — a quaking aspen tree (Populus tremuloides) in Utah called Pando — have helped researchers to determine its age and revealed clues about its evolutionary history. By sequencing hundreds of samples from the tree, researchers confirmed that Pando is between 16,000 and 80,000 years old, verifying previous suggestions that it is among the oldest organisms on Earth. They were also able to track patterns of genetic variation spread throughout the tree that offer clues about how it has adapted and evolved over the course of its lifetime. The findings were posted on the bioRxiv preprint server on 24 October.The work has not yet been peer reviewed.

PORT ANGELES — The Elwha Legacy Forest Coalition may not be the Lorax, but they still speak for the trees. On Tuesday, the state Board of Natural Resources (BNR), which oversees the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), will vote on whether to move forward with three timber sales, totaling 725 acres, that are fully or partially located within the Elwha River Watershed. To oppose these timber sales and their potential environmental impacts, organizations and citizens bonded together to form the Elwha Legacy Forest Coalition. …These forests in questions have been labelled “legacy” forests by advocates — mature, structurally complex forests that contain a breadth of diversity. …“Whenever and wherever we find it [old growth], it is permanently conserved,” said Duane Emmons, DNR assistant deputy supervisor for State Uplands. …If the sales are postponed or canceled, many junior taxing districts are worried about the loss of timber sale revenue.

Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit Thursday to stop a plan to kill barred owls, which is part of a federal plan to save endangered spotted owls. Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington state challenging a plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to kill a maximum of 450,000 barred owls over the next 30 years. Northern spotted owl populations have been rapidly declining due in part to competition from invasive barred owls, which originate in the eastern United States. …USFWS said it worked for years on a plan that would remove less than one-half of 1% of the North American barred owl population. …“As wildlife professionals, we approached this issue carefully and did not come to this decision lightly,” USFWS Oregon State Supervisor Kessina Lee said in announcing the decision in August.

Monday night’s planning meeting for the McDonald-Dunn was the fourth public session in Oregon State University’s multi-year process to come up with a new management plan for these public forests. One would think the leaders of the College of Forestry would have fine-tuned their process for public engagement, but the litany of complaints from frustrated citizens showed that they still have a lot to learn. The unwelcome involvement and comments by the dean of the College created further discontent with OSU’s planning process. …It is both alarming and telling that nearly all twelve of OSU’s scenarios still involve a significant amount of clearcutting, termed, “rotational forestry.” On average, OSU’s twelve scenarios dedicate roughly 40% of the McDonald-Dunn to clearcut forestry. …It remains to be seen whether OSU is willing to incorporate public input to any meaningful degree. At Monday’s meeting, the community soundly rejected both OSU’s forest management and its approach to forest management. 

The closure of Roseburg Forest Products in Missoula and Pyramid Mountain Lumber in Seeley Lake put 250 workers out of a job this year. Samuel Scott is a forest economist with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana. In a presentation Friday requested by the Montana Forest Collaboration Network, Scott said the mill closures could lead to a 20% reduction in Montana’s timber harvest, if the lumber industry isn’t able to add processing capacity. “…This is a worst case scenario of where we could be headed if nothing changes,” said Scott. It’s unclear how or when the work done by Pyramid Mountain and Roseburg could be replaced. Pyramid Mountain began auctioning off its machinery and equipment last week. The company says the mill is working with a potential buyer and that they would likely bring in all new equipment if they complete the purchase.

WASHINGTON — A petition seeking to stop a logging and forest management project in October Mountain State Forest was signed by nearly 600 citizens and submitted this week to Gov. Maura Healey. The petition by the group, Preserve October Mountain State Forest, was also sent to state Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Brian Arrigo. The document says the group wants to not only stop the project in what is the state’s largest forest, but also to place this entire property into a forest reserve “so it will be primarily by natural processes with minimal human interference.” “The goal,” the petition says, “is to retain an intact forest for wildlife, water and soil protection, carbon accumulation and recreation.”

Three forest stands whose timbers have been authorized for sale but had been paused – are now back on the chopping block as the Board of Natural Resources (BNR) will consider re-approving them for auction on November 5. These forest stands are Juneau, Carrot, and Cabbage Patch, representing 430 acres of forestland. Money-wise, the three forest stands represent $1.9 million in timber revenue for the county, according to projections by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The Olympia and Rochester school districts are the most significant beneficiaries, which stand to gain $596,129 and $367,850 from the revenues over several years. All three stands are in the Capitol State Forest and are considered “legacy” forests, especially by certain environmental groups. Legacy Forest Defense Coalition defines legacy forests as “forests that retain significant biological, structural, and genetic legacies of the natural and old growth forests that once dominated the Pacific Northwest.”

Nicole Hynson normally gets roped in to help when all else fails. The conservation biologist from the University of Hawaii is involved in bringing back all kinds of critically endangered plants from the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, she’s kept busy in her home state, Hawaii, which is also known as the extinction capital of the world. Her latest conservation target is a flowering tree that’s fighting a losing battle in the wild: the Gardenia brighamii, or, as it’s known among some local communities, the na’u. The na’u is one of three gardenia species endemic to the archipelago. The na’u’s crowning glory is its fragrant flower, a pearly blossom that was once frequently woven into traditional floral wreaths called leis.

Trucks line an unpaved road about 50 minutes up Robinette Mountain Road near Dayton, Washington. Crews are ready to burn over 37 acres at the Rainwater Wildlife Area. As wildfire season winds down, crews around Washington and Oregon perform prescribed fires. Lindsay Chiono is a wildlife habitat ecologist with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. During this burn, she’s also the firing boss. That means she’s guiding the lighters — the people setting the fire. “We’ve tried to burn this unit for three years in a row. Just a few weeks ago was summer, and high fire hazard. So it’s a small window up this high elevation,” she said. Chiono and 22 members from tribal, governmental and private organizations performed the prescribed fire on the tribe’s lands in late September.

Michael Bennet

The Colorado congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., is calling on the U.S. Forest Service to continue partnerships with Rocky Mountain communities amid the agency’s hiring freeze on seasonal employees. Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper as well as Joe Neguse and Brittany Pettersen penned a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary. In particular, the letter takes issue with the Forest Service applying the hiring freeze not only to positions funded through the federal budget but also to positions supported by local funding… “We are deeply concerned by the Forest Service’s announcement about the agency’s budget shortfall and subsequent hiring freeze of all non-firefighting, temporary seasonal employees,” the letter states. “Colorado’s forests are some of the most visited in the nation and serve as critical infrastructure for Colorado.”

SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Forestry has announced the launch of the Prescribed Fire Liability Program. The pilot program is intended to increase the use of prescribed fire and cultural burning and support fire practitioners by providing liability coverage for enrolled burns. Introducing periodic fire to fire-adapted landscapes and reducing forest fuels has been shown to lessen the potential for high-intensity wildfires and the large volume of smoke they produce. While the rates of escape and loss are very low due to the careful planning and preparation required for prescribed fire and cultural burning, there is always some residual risk when working with fire. This risk, and the resulting liability for damages due to escape if uninsured, can deter some practitioners from using beneficial fire.

Dominick A. DellaSala

Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been trying to privatize the Tongass for years. Her latest effort, the so-called “Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act,” S.1889/H.R. 4748, is a giveaway to corporate interests of 115,200 acres, including 80,000 acres of prime old-growth forests and roadless areas. …And it would continue promoting the dispossession and disenfranchisement of Indigenous peoples and local communities that depend on the Tongass’ world-class fish and wildlife populations that have sustained the ecology and economy of the region. …My research shows that it is the region’s best natural climate solution, storing about 20% of all the carbon in the entire national forest system. …Over 14 attempts to overturn the 2001 Roadless Rule have been met with legal challenges and have ultimately failed because the public, scientists, and Indigenous people like Wanda Culp have spoken truth to power.

Last week, the US Forest Service announced it would stop prescribed burning in California “for the foreseeable future,” stating that the as a precautionary measure to ensure the availability of staff and equipment in case of potential wildfires. But temps are falling across California, and state, tribal authorities, and prescribed burn associations have commenced with their prescribed burns. If the federal agency doesn’t hold up its end of the work, all that mitigation work can be undone. …it’s essential to understand the history of the state and the intricate mosaic of private, state, and federal land that constitutes the forests. …the state and federal governments relied on a “paramilitary-like program” focused on fire suppression… Very little was done regarding fire prevention… One of the problems was that colonialist attitudes of fire officials constantly disregarded the valuable knowledge of forest management practices held by California’s Indigenous communities.

The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire (TNC) announced today that it has been awarded $10 million from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to administer a Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) to support Climate Resilient Forest Management in New Hampshire and Western Maine. This significant funding, matched by approximately $1 million in partner contributions, will support efforts to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change through innovative forest management practices. The project will build on the successful Climate Resilient Forest Management (CRFM) project that has been led by TNC, the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, and the University of Vermont since 2022… In all, The Nature Conservancy is receiving $102.5 million for conservation projects across six states.

The U.S. Forest Service has issued a nationwide hiring freeze on all non-fire seasonal employees, a decision that could have ripple effects across Colorado mountain communities, where vast swathes of land are national forests… Council member Jay Beckerman described the impact of the Forest Service’s hiring freeze this way — “We’re going to be leaning on our staff, we’re going to be leaning on volunteer organizations to do some of the work that was previously done by seasonal summer staff for the Forest Service.”.. U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore announced that the federal agency wouldn’t be hiring any seasonal workers, other than seasonal firefighting positions, in fiscal year 2025. “We’re going to do what we can with what we have. We’re not going to try to do everything that is expected of us with less people.”

In response to recent proposals for how to manage 250,000 acres in the Madison and Gallatin mountain ranges, the Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance introduced its own wildlife-focused legislation Thursday night at the Museum of the Rockies. If their plan succeeds, the Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Act would designate all 250,000 roadless acres in the Gallatins as federally protected wilderness, restricting nearly all commercial activities, roads, structures, motor vehicles and mechanical transport. …While no members of Montana’s current congressional delegation have stepped up to spearhead the bill, if passed, it would designate 124,000 acres of new wilderness in the Madison and Gallatin ranges, create the 102,000-acre Gallatin Wilderness Area and add 22,000 acres to the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. The act would prohibit new roads, trails, and motorized or mechanized use in these areas while also legalizing historic non-wilderness uses in parts of the current Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area by removing its status but still allowing for future wilderness consideration.