The Armstrong Redwood State Natural Reserve in Guerneville, a popular destination for locals and out-of-town visitors alike, has been incorporated into the nationwide Old-Growth Forest Network, a project aimed at protecting and promoting old growth forests around the country. The 805-acre reserve was dedicated Friday, becoming one of more than 185 forests in 32 states, primarily in the northeast and east, to receive the designation from the 11-year-old nonprofit network thus far. There are now 16 in California. …The hope eventually is to identify an old-growth landscape in every U.S. county that has one and can sustain it to ensure they are acknowledged and treasured for their rare longevity, complex beauty and ecological benefits, said Noelle Collins, southwest regional manager for the network.

Oregon State University research into the ability of a wildfire to improve the health of a forest uncovered a Goldilocks effect—unless a blaze falls in a narrow severity range, neither too hot nor too cold, it isn’t very good at helping forest landscapes return to their historical, more fire-tolerant conditions. The study led by Skye Greenler, at the OSU College of Forestry, and Chris Dunn, an assistant professor, has important implications for land managers charged with restoring ecosystems and reducing fire hazard in dry forests such as those east of the Cascade Range. The findings, published in PLOS One, shed light on the situations in which managed wildfires, as well as postfire efforts such as thinning and planting, are likely to be most effective at achieving restoration goals. …Our study lets managers and researchers link forest restoration goals with maps of predicted post-fire conditions.”

Montana’s state forestry programs topped 31,000 acres last year, topping the acreage from 2022 as the state pushes to increase the pace and scope of forest management. The office of Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation announced that state put more than 31,000 acres under forest management programs. The figure includes ongoing logging, thinning and prescribed fire projects that are ongoing or placed under contract in 2022. The acreage is a combination of state land timber sales, cross-boundary work that includes private lands, grants to private landowners and cooperative agreements with federal agencies. “Creating healthier, more resilient Montana forests through active management is one of our top priorities, and DNRC continues to deliver results for the people of Montana,” Gianforte said in a statement. “We’ve made incredible progress over the last two years to increase the pace and scale of forest management in Montana, and we’re not done yet.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Angus King (I-Maine) and U.S. Representatives Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) reintroduced the Future Logging Careers Act on Tuesday. The legislation would allow teenage members of logging families to gain experience in the logging trade under parental supervision so they may carry on the family business. The Future Logging Careers Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to work in certain mechanized logging operations under parental supervision. “Idaho’s logging industry has long been a family trade, but current law is hampering its future by preventing young men and women from working in their family’s businesses,” said Risch. “The Future Logging Careers Act would give timber families the opportunity to pass down their trade. With a decline in labor and an aging workforce, we must empower the next generation of loggers ….”