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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.”

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.”

Cal Fire-Humboldt-Del Norte Unit announced they will be performing a prescribed burn on Ettersburg Ranch road and Walter Ridge road over the course of three days starting on Sunday, Oct. 20- Tuesday, Oct. 22. Cal Fire Humboldt- Del Norte said the controlled 300-acre burnis planned for the restoration of oak woodland habitat and to reduce wildfire hazardous fuels… This burn is said to be part of a long-term habitat management plan which intends to reduce hazardous wildland fuel loading. Cal Fire said the treatment will help to enhance the health of the native plant communities, aid in the control of non-native plant species, and protect and enhance habitat for animal species dependent on the oak woodland ecosystem.

Restoring forest health is a major priority for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and our partners on the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team. Following the Angora Fire in 2007, TRPA helped bring fire and forest management agencies together to increase the pace of forest fuel reduction projects, streamline permit processes, and prioritize new funding sources. The Angora Fire was a wakeup call for the Tahoe Basin. Although it was relatively small by today’s standards, the 3,100-acre fire destroyed more than 250 homes along Angora Ridge on the South Shore… TRPA is also helping fire and emergency management agencies coordinating on emergency evacuation planning. The Tahoe Basin was awarded a $1.7-million federal PROTECT grant for regional evacuation planning and to address wildfire and extreme weather vulnerabilities in our transportation and communication infrastructure.