Arizona’s early start to the wildfire season is just the latest example of suffering the consequences of the 20th century strategy that suppressed blazes and let forests grow abnormally dense. Add historic drought, extreme heat and the results are predictable. …A public-private partnership launched the Four Forest Restoration Initiative, or 4FRI, with a goal of restoring 2.4 million acres of national forest land. The program, for a variety of reasons, has never come close to reaching its annual goals. Work by The Nature Conservancy in partnership with industry and the U.S. Forest Service has identified a suite of business practices and innovative efficiencies that may allow the initiative to achieve its potential and make efficient use of new federal funding. …The Nature Conservancy operates much like a learning laboratory and tests various efficiencies with the intent of saving money and time for the forest industry. 

SANTA FE, N.M. — Saving tree seedlings critical to restoring forests in the Southwest from the fires ripping through northern New Mexico took four trucks and three trailers — and two trips into a wildfire evacuation zone. The New Mexico State University John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center, which sits in the verdant Mora River valley in northern New Mexico’s mountains among scattered rural communities, houses the state’s only facility for growing tree seedlings and one of the Southwest’s only seed banks. …But last week, the seeds and young trees themselves were in peril when the Calf Canyon Fire, New Mexico’s second largest fire on record, closed in on the center. So a team of university staffers and state employees sprang into action to save all they could from the flames, which have now burned 259,810 acres and are only 33 percent contained.

Timothy Kennedy Flickr 

Utah’s 8.1 million acres of national forests are an irreplaceable resource for people, wildlife, and local communities. These diverse woodlands feature rocky peaks and expansive meadows, along with rivers, lakes, and streams. And each forest provides habitat for fish and wildlife and myriad recreational opportunities such as camping, hunting, and mountain biking—significant quality-of-life aspects for Utah residents and visitors. To help the U.S. Forest Service make the best decisions in managing these public lands, The Pew Charitable Trusts commissioned Conservation Science Partners, a Truckee, California-based research nonprofit, to evaluate three of Utah’s national forests to identify the most ecologically valuable—yet unprotected—lands within each. Without protections, these areas could be vulnerable to commercial logging, road building, or other activities that would diminish their important values.

VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON—The City of Vancouver is seeking applicants interested in filling three vacancies on its volunteer Urban Forestry Commission (UFC). The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Sunday, June 12. The UFC is an active working group that helps plan and implement tree events, build neighborhood association relationships, support public education, and plan community recognition programs related to appreciation of our community’s trees. Vancouver is proud to have been named Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for the past 33 years, an honor that is due in large part to the work of the commission members. The commission’s advisory role includes reviewing and informing Vancouver’s urban forestry policies and regulations, assisting with updating the Urban Forestry program’s work plan, and administering the Heritage Tree Program, Arbor Day recognition and awards programs.