Region Archives: US West

On an October day in Plumas National Forest, Alex Lemnah traverses the canopy of an incense cedar nearly 100 feet off the ground. His job is to climb California conifers to collect their cones. Inside these spiny reproductive globes are the real prize: seeds. But things can turn dicey when the wind picks up. …These climbers are the linchpin in California’s new plan to save scorched forests from disappearing, threatened by mega-fires made worse by poor forest management and climate change. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Forestry and Fire Task Force found that 1.5 million acres of California forest were scorched by 70% high-severity fire during the 2019-2021 fire seasons. Fire devastation on those acres is so intense that trees won’t naturally grow back, and to prevent them from becoming shrubby chaparral, they need to be replanted. …Foresters say bringing back California’s “reforestation pipeline” — the network of seed banks, nurseries and planting operations — is desperately needed.

PAYSON — On June 27, 1990, two stories dominated the headlines in Arizona. One documented the hottest day on record in Phoenix, where the temperature peaked at 122 degrees. The second story reported that six firemen had been killed in the Dude Fire. Now, 33 years later, forest managers are concerned history may repeat itself. Arizona experienced one of its hottest and driest summers, increasing wildfire danger across the state, and the Dude Fire burn scar has become an extremely high risk for another destructive fire. An overabundance of fuels was one of the reasons why the Dude Fire was so destructive, and after decades of excessive fire suppression in forests, low-lying vegetation has taken over again. To prevent future catastrophic fires, the U.S. Forest Service, Salt River Project and the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management are thinning forest areas in northern and central Arizona.

A proposed timber project on about 5,400 acres in the Swan Valley is under review by the Flathead National Forest. The Rumbling Owl Fuels Reduction Project would include timber harvest and prescribed fire with the intent of reducing wildfires in the so-called wildland-urban interface. The project is southeast of Condon between Montana 83 and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. According to the scoping notice, the area includes many private and Forest Service structures, and is important to the outdoor tourism economy. A wildfire in the area would have “devastating consequences,” according to the notice. The proposed harvest and prescribed fire would ultimately help protect those assets, the notice states. Work would include 4,441 acres of commercial tree harvest and 946 acres of pre-commercial thinning. 

…Giant sequoias are, by volume, the largest trees in the world, indigenous only to California. Reaching heights of 300 feet, they occur in 80 groves or grove complexes along the western flank of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Central California. All but eight of those groves occur in a narrow, 60-mile-long band at elevations between 4,000 and 8,000 feet. … For a long time, sequoias were thought to be indestructible. With their thick, flame-resistant bark and elevated crowns they are well adapted to wildfire. When a fire comes through, they aren’t usually killed. In fact, they thrive as their competitors for light, water, and nutrients are removed, and the fire’s heat opens the sequoia’s cones, facilitating the release of seeds for reproduction. Insects don’t kill them, nor does disease. That is why many of these trees live for thousands of years: The oldest sequoia is more than 3,200 years old. In North America, only bristlecone pines grow longer.

Three environmental groups filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday to stop a 4,600-acre forest and logging project northeast of Eugene.  Willamette Riverkeeper, Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild filed the lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management for the agency’s authorization of the Big League Project in the Calapooia and Mohawk River Watersheds.  The groups contend the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to take a “hard look” at impacts on endangered salmon, recently burned forest, spotted owl habitat and carbon storage, among other factors.  “Specifically, this project plans to clearcut the last and best older forest stands in the Calapooia and Mohawk River Watersheds,” the groups said in a news release.  …A central part of the lawsuit focuses on “BLM’s failure to fully analyze the effects of logging and road construction activities on threatened Upper Willamette River spring Chinook salmon.”

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Analyses of U.S. national forests led by Oregon State University scientists shows that increased protections for two Alaskan forests is a key to meeting climate and biodiversity goals. In a paper published in AGU Advances, OSU College of Forestry researchers make the case that greater conservation efforts in the Tongass and Chugach national forests in southern Alaska are crucial because of their landscape integrity, high carbon stocks and wildlife habitat extent. “More thoroughly safeguarding those forests from industrial development would contribute significantly to climate change mitigation and species adaptation in the face of the severe ecological disruption that’s expected to occur over the next few decades as the climate rapidly gets warmer,” said Oregon State’s Bev Law, who co-led the study.

Chad Stewart, supervisor of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, has described the recently released revised land management plan for the forests as one that strikes “the best balance between conservation, which entails active forestry management and sustainable uses, and preservation, which restricts human impact and supports natural processes.”  …”It fell short in a lot of areas,” he said. By contrast, Mesa County commissioners in a letter sent this week to Stewart called the plan both “well-balanced” and “forward-thinking.” …The current plan dates back 40 years, and the Forest Service has been working for years on updating it. …The plan “appears to have increased timber production as a goal, even though trees are much more valuable standing, as they provide for biological diversity and carbon storage,” a number of conservation and citizen groups told the Forest Service in an objection letter.

DELTA, Colo.— Conservation groups filed objections this week to the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed final management plan for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests in western Colorado. The plan would allow commercial logging on more than 772,000 acres of public lands, including mature and old-growth trees — a 66% increase from the current forest plan. “A sizeable area of our beloved forests could be sacrificed to commercial logging at the expense of our already dwindling wilderness areas, wildlife habitat and recreation,” said Chad Reich with High Country Conservation Advocates. …Under the proposed plan mature and old-growth forests, which store massive amounts of carbon, could be commercially logged. Forest managers would not be required to identify and protect old-growth and mature trees. Steep slopes across the forests, including Upper Taylor Canyon and Slate River Valley, could also be logged despite the high risk of severe erosion and threats to water quality.

ARIZONA — The Kendrick Prescribed Fire Project was one of the first of many prescribed burns this fall and winter throughout Arizona with the goal of protecting forest lands and surrounding communities from the threat of potentially catastrophic wildfires. The prescribed burns in Kaibab National Forest are part of the U.S. Forest Service’s 10-year wildfire crisis strategy, which aims to combat wildfires in high-risk forest landscapes. The strategy began in January 2022 as a response to the growing threat of wildfires in the West over the past 20 years due to climate change, accumulating fuels, and development. It emphasizes the restoration of fire-adapted ecosystems, which rely on regular fire exposure to stay healthy. In other words, the Forest Service aims to fight fire with fire.

Last summer, logging crews working on the Bull Springs timber sale, cut down the biggest pine trees in sections surrounding Round Mountain. With that forest overstory gone, what remains are dense clusters of small ponderosa pine that look more like bushes. …In the 2000’s, the U.S. Forest Service thinned dense ponderosa stands to get ahead of the pine beetle epidemic. The transformation allowed young, understory trees, often called ‘doghair’ to become very dense. …retired forester David Mertz questioned the project. “The only thing I can come up with is they provided saw timber to the sawmills,” Mertz said, adding the understory that remains will eventually create a problem. Thick, dense tree stands will compete for sunlight, water and nutrients. Eventually, if they aren’t thinned, they’ll become more susceptible to infestation or fire in the future. Forester Carl Fiedler said if the remaining doghair stands are thinned, …the effects of overstory removal can diminish in a few years.

Logging, fishing and farming are the pilings on which most Pacific Northwest settlers built their lives. These occupations remain acutely important to many rural residents — cultural bedrock with enduring economic importance. Disrespect and neglect of these foundations go some way to explaining the much-discussed urban-rural divide. …“Strong Winds & Widow Makers,” an award-winning book by University of Oregon assistant professor of history Steven C. Beda, is an illuminating trek into the forests alongside highclimbers and other logging specialists. More importantly, it’s an examination of how politics, corporate boardrooms and changing social attitudes and technology left many timber workers on the short end of the stick — and where things stand now. …“Strong Winds” is a fact-filled guidebook, with something interesting on every page. …Wilderness areas can and should coexist with forests dedicated to industrial forestry, Beda concludes.

New state building codes in Washington state aim to protect properties on the edge between urban and wooded areas – a fast growing type of space known as the wildland urban interface – from wildfire. But the code changes have sparked backlash from builders, cities and environmentalists who say the rules are confusing, will drive up housing costs and could result in an excessive number of trees getting cut down. The codes at the center of the controversy are already approved and will take effect March 15. The guidelines, which apply to new construction or remodels, call for roofs, siding, decks, doors, windows and other parts of homes to be made out of fire resistant materials. They also include requirements for “defensible space” around buildings ranging from 30 to 100 feet… “There’s just so many questions that are still unanswered,” said Andrea Smith, policy and research manager at the Building Industry Association of Washington.

Old-growth trees in Oregon State University’s research forests are highly valued for providing ecological benefits to the forests, as well as spiritual and recreational significance. “Old-growth forests provide many important ecological and environmental functions, including preserving biodiversity and wildlife habitat, greatly reducing the risk of wildfire, storing and filtering water (and) cooling and humidifying the air,” said concerned Corvallis resident Doug Pollock. After OSU cleared nearly 16 acres of centuries-old trees in the McDonald Research Forest in 2019, Pollock started a group called Friends of OSU Old Growth. The group advocates for positive change in the OSU College of Forestry, and aims to protect old trees and stands. …According to Dean of OSU College of Forestry Tom DeLuca, the College is working on a new management plan for the McDonald-Dunn forests that will be implemented in 2024, which will include an additional mature forest stand in the reserve network.

I read your article “Stimson Lumber Owner Expresses Criticism of U.S. Forest Service” (CEO Andrew Miller) with great interest. After being in the logging/sawmill/forestry business for about 50 years I appreciated his comments. It’s about time! Thank You. At my age, I see no reason to worry about “stepping on toes” so to speak. For the last few years I’ve been introducing myself as “a washed up gypo logger, half retired and half working, and not doing either very well.” It disgusts me how dysfunctional the USFS has become. I’ve always been a strong supporter of the timber industry and forest management. …So here we are in Lincoln County in the middle of probably the most productive forest in the Inland Northwest. No timber sales, Idaho Forest Group sweating bullets over log supply, Stimson reducing shifts, all while a wildfire threat looms in the actual Urban Interface which would generate useful wood fiber…

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management announces a nearly $8 million investment into the state with grants that aid in invasive plant eradication and support hazardous fuels reduction work to promote safer communities. The Department released award notifications for its Invasive Plant Grants that assist with the reduction and removal of invasive species across Arizona’s landscapes. Invasive plants, such as tamarisk and stink net, increase the threat of wildfire, change the natural fire regime, alter watersheds, and choke out native species. In total, the Department earmarked more than $1 million in IPG grants to nine organizations. …In addition, the Department awarded 33 agencies approximately $7 million in grants under the Healthy Forest Initiative program to reduce wildfire risk, safeguard communities, and improve forest health. 

 “It’s highly likely that many of the giant sequoias in their current groves may not make it for the next century,” Park Williams, a climate scientist at the University of California, said. He notes that the soil is becoming drier in the southern Sierra Nevada, and snowpack is disappearing earlier in the year, ushering in a longer dry season. …The question is what, if anything, can be done to prevent a raft of extinctions driven by our remaking of the earth’s climate. For Milarch, the answer was clear. He ascribed to something called “assisted migration”: moving species to more hospitable areas. …Redwoods may be a perfect candidate for assisted migration. They are relatively slow to colonize new territory and, thanks to their size, very conspicuous. …The concept of assisted migration, even if no panacea, at least acknowledges the increasing fluidity of the world. [to access the full story a NY Times subscription is required]

KYBURZ, Calif. — On a steep mountainside where walls of flames torched the forest on their way toward Lake Tahoe in 2021, blackened trees stand in silhouette against a gray sky. “If you can find a live tree, point to it,” Hugh Safford, an environmental science and policy researcher at the University of California, Davis, said touring damage from the Caldor Fire, one of the past decade’s many massive blazes. Fire burned so hot that soil was still barren in places more than a year later. Granite boulders were charred and flaked from the inferno. Long, narrow indentations marked the graves of fallen logs that vanished in smoke. Damage in this area of Eldorado National Forest could be permanent — part of a troubling pattern that threatens a defining characteristic of the Sierra Nevada range John Muir once called a “waving sea of evergreens.”

CALIFORNIA — Each year, California wildfires threaten the safety of our neighbors, the protection of property and the preservation of scenic lands we all value. These devastating wildfires destroy communities and property and cause tragic losses of life, as well as inflicting great harm on the environment. This year alone, there have been over 5,000 wildfires and over 300,000 acres burned in California. While fire is an important part of life for these ecosystems, years of mismanagement of our forests has created tinderboxes across the state. For years, biomass and brush have built up in our forests, creating the perfect environment for catastrophic wildfires. …Also contributing to this is changing climate conditions, including higher temperatures, and California’s sharp decline in logging. While clear cutting practices of the past were wrong, we have over-corrected and made it too difficult for logging companies to operate cost effectively.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Relatives of three people who died last year in a flash flood stemming from the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history are suing the U.S. Forest Service. The wrongful death lawsuit filed earlier this month alleges the Forest Service was negligent in the management of the prescribed burn and also failed to close roads and prevent access to areas at risk for flooding that followed the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. The three West Texas residents were staying at a family cabin in northern New Mexico in July 2022 when monsoon rains hit the burn scar near Tecolote Creek. That created a flash flood that swept the three victims to their deaths. According to the Albuquerque Journal, the lawsuit also contends that the Forest Service failed to provide adequate warnings to the victims about the dangers caused by the wildfire and the dangers of potential flooding in the area.

Arizona and the Western United States have struggled with big wildfires in recent years. Mexico’s ecosystem is similar to Arizona’s, but a Northern Arizona University researcher says it has not had a problem with large blazes in its ponderosa forests. Although the regions have similar forests, they have different histories. The U.S. has managed its timber on a federal level, to turn a profit. Mexican communities cared for their forests on a local level and took a longer view, said Chris Boyer, a history professor at NAU. He said that the approach to logging south of the border was to cut some trees but let others remain. …”Which is, essentially, what we now recognize as the best way of maintaining forest health, in ponderosa forests and indeed in coniferous forests everywhere,” Boyer said.

…But the fire also nearly wiped out another set of trees, one with a much longer history in Lahaina and a greater significance in Hawaiian culture: breadfruit, or ulu, which had given sustenance since Polynesian voyagers introduced it to the islands many centuries ago. Before colonialism, commercial agriculture and tourism, thousands of breadfruit trees dotted Lahaina; the fire charred all but two of the dozen or so that remained. …Now, as Maui recovers from the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, one that left at least 98 people dead, a band of arborists, farmers and landscapers has set about trying to save Lahaina’s ulu, kukui nut and other culturally important trees, in some cases digging down to the roots of badly burned specimens to find live tissue that could be used to propagate new shoots. …A staple in some tropical countries, the fruit looks like an oversized, scaly lime.