MONTREAL – First Nations in Quebec have walked away from talks with the provincial government on a forestry bill they say would pave the way to privatizing public land. The Assembly of First Nations Quebec–Labrador says the province has not shown “genuine political will” to collaborate with Indigenous communities on the government’s forestry reform, which they say does not respect their rights. …The Quebec government tabled a bill last spring aiming to protect communities that depend on the forestry industry. The legislation would divide public forests into zones designated for conservation, multi-purpose use or forestry. …Indigenous leaders were quick to criticize the bill, saying it infringed on their rights. …In Tuesday’s open letter, assembly Chief Francis Verreault-Paul and five members of the group’s committee on forests, including Flamand, say the government has refused to engage on the zoning strategy, which they want scrapped.
The union representing Ontario’s wildland firefighters says they’re working long hours that are contributing to “fatigue,” and is calling for a funding increase to address a lack of resources. “Historically Ontario’s had about 180 four-person fire crews,” said Noah Freedman, a wildfire crew leader in northwestern Ontario and vice-president of Local 703 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). …”While we should be looking to staff more firefighters, and have more water bombers and pilots and all of our incredible support staff that we need more of, we’re just going the other direction at the moment.” Freedman said the union has been unable to confirm the exact number of crews currently operating; last year, there were 143. …The province is also short water bomber pilots.
The Trump administration has proposed drastically limiting the public’s say in how federal lands are used at a time when the president is pushing to fast-track logging, mining and oil extraction. That’s raising concerns amongst conservationists and environmental advocates, who worry that the changes could have a profound impact on Oregonians’ relationship with the lands around them. More than half the land in Oregon is federally owned, as is about 29% of land in Washington. …Under President Donald Trump, 16 federal agencies are now considering rule changes that could curtail or drastically limit this public input, which is required under the National Environmental Policy Act, known as NEPA. Those proposed changes were announced in early July. The public has until Monday to provide input on the changes for the U.S Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. …Data shows that public comments can make a difference.
A major logging project in Montana can continue after a federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by four environmental groups. Last year, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved the Round Star logging project, which covers 28,300 acres of land about 13 miles west of the city of Whitefish. …The agencies also approved the construction of nearly 20 miles of permanent roads in the national forest. …The four conservation groups — Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Native Ecosystems Council, Council on Wildlife and Fish and Yellowstone to Uintas Connection — sued to stop the logging in January, and filed their motion for a preliminary injunction months later. By that time, the logging was already underway. …Though the timing of the motion wasn’t a dealbreaker for the motion, DeSoto also found that the plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits of the case.
Fire season started early in the Northwest. The Rowena fire sparked in early June near The Dalles and destroyed 56 homes in a matter of days. Since then, as dry thunderstorms and lightning continue to start hundreds of wildfires across the state, the Oregon Department of Forestry and Bureau of Land Management say they have been able to stop most fires before they spread. But as the season intensifies nationwide, they are concerned about competition with other Western states for resources like air tankers. …While an aggressive “initial attack” approach is nothing new, Assistant State Fire Management Officer for the Oregon and Washington BLM, Richard Parrish, said having increased resources such as pre-positioned firefighting teams across the state, aerial water tankers and a Blackhawk helicopter crew — the only one in the nation — has made all the difference.
…The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. July 29 due to thunderstorms producing abundant lightning and wind gusts up to 50-60 mph, in combination with dry fuels, the alert said. A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will occur shortly. NWS also issued a fire weather advisory from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. July 29 due to potential lightning from thunderstorms that could spark new fires and wind gusts that could impact new and existing fires. …The Piper Fire sparked on July 28 from thunderstorms 3 miles northeast of Skookum Creek Campground in the Three Sisters Wilderness. It was estimated to be 20 acres as of July 28. …The High Horn Fire in Malheur County had burned 120 acres as of July 28. …The Skyline Fire, also burning in Malheur County, had burned 38.5 acres as of July 28.