Across the American West, managers of fire-prone landscapes are increasingly using a practice that seems counterintuitive: setting small fires to prevent larger, more destructive ones. … But smoke from prescribed burns also presents health risks. Today’s forest managers must ask themselves — how much prescribed burning is too much? …An international team led by researchers at the University of Washington built a framework to help land managers assess the air quality implications of land management scenarios with different levels of prescribed burning. To apply the framework, researchers linked together a series of models that estimate the smoke effects of various levels of prescribed burning on ecosystems and nearby communities. …All tested levels of prescribed fires led to less wildfire smoke overall. But greater amounts of prescribed fires could present notable health hazards of their own.

More than 2,000 signatures were collected on a petition calling for Sen. Steve Daines to meet publicly with his constituents regarding legislation he introduced to remove 100,000 acres in Montana from Wilderness Study Area protection. “It’s not asking much for the senator to meet with us before he introduces a bill that would change these places forever,” said Jennifer Buszka, a recreationist and public lands advocate from East Helena, in a press release from Wild Montana announcing the petition. Daines introduced his legislation in July, asking Congress to remove three WSAs: 81,000 acres in the Middle Fork Judith in the Little Belt Mountains managed by the Forest Service; 11,580 acres in the Wales Creek WSA; and 11,380 acres in the Hoodoo Mountain WSA. …The legislation also noted the Forest Service and BLM, in planning that involved public input, have recommended removing WSA designation from the lands.

Those hoping to join the California National Guard’s frontline wildland firefighting corps had no time to admire the morning sky as it collided with the golden hills of California’s Central Coast. The state was already weeks into its fire season when nearly 120 soldiers and airmen entered a 10-day academy hoping to serve on Joint Task Force Rattlesnake, 14 full-time military crews that embed with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. …The 72 soldiers and airmen who made it through might soon be put to the test in a real-world wildfire. “We emphasize how strenuous and arduous this job is,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brock Redding. …Formed in 2019 by the California National Guard as a response to the growing frequency and intensity of fires, supporting Cal Fire’s efforts to clear the dense, dry vegetation… Rattlesnake crews quickly proved themselves and now deploy alongside Cal Fire to the frontlines during fire season.

BOISE, Idaho – Idaho has more than 103,000 acres of timberland enrolled in its Forest Legacy Program, mostly in the state’s northern counties. According to officials from the Idaho Department of Lands, in the past year the state received additional grant funds to enroll another 33,000 acres in the program. “Citizens who enjoy recreation in the forests, working families and Idaho communities benefit from the Forest Legacy Program because it keeps working forests working,” Idaho State Forester Craig Foss said. “Under this voluntary program private landowners can apply to sell the development rights to their timberland at a fair market value but retain ownership of the land.” More than 90% of the private land currently enrolled in Idaho’s Forest Legacy Program is open to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreational uses. It also preserves wildlife habitat, water quality and scenic landscapes.

Michael Hoyt

According to its website, the Montana Forest Collaboration Network (MFCN) has twenty-six participating groups. Their website states that this network was formed in “August 2016, to assist collaborative groups across Montana in forest and grassland restoration, conservation, and resource utilization for the benefit of all.” Does that claim hold up? Are the Network and individual collaboratives actually helping restore and conserve forests and grasslands or improve resource utilization for everyone’s benefit? …The lists of members of MFCN and individual collaboratives reveal many are, or were, closely associated with the timber industry. In short, members of MFCN and individual collaboratives represent activities the Forest Service is supposed to regulate and constrain. That is unreasonable. …The fact that people representing activities the Forest Service is expected to regulate are not only allowed but asked to participate in collaboratives, is an indication the agency is a victim of regulatory capture.