Nick Smith

Recent litigation over the Black Ram project on the Kootenai National Forest shouldn’t discourage the U.S. Forest Service from implementing projects that reduce the risks of severe wildfires and help protect communities throughout Western Montana.  … In his court opinion on the Black Ram project, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula determined the Forest Service failed to document the climate impacts of thinning overstocked and fire-prone forests. However, there is an abundance of good science illustrating the need for forest management in reducing net carbon emissions.  …Unmanaged forests are touted by some as the best solution for climate change. Yet emerging research is finding that many western forests are losing their ability to sequester and store carbon as they age and succumb to severe wildfires, insects and disease.