WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Rep. Joe Neguse, Chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, unveiled legislation Friday to establish a 21st Century Conservation Corps. The 21st Century Conservation Corps Act, originally introduced in July 2020, would provide critical funds to support a natural resource management and conservation workforce and bolster wildfire prevention and preparedness to protect the health and safety of communities during the unparalleled combination of threats posed by wildfire season and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as supporting President Biden’s climate and economic agendas.  …By investing in a 21st century workforce, this bill will put people to work to tackle the climate emergency, restore our public lands and reduce wildfire risks,” Wyden said.

Amanda Astor

Timber harvests on federal forests dropped dramatically after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed the northern spotted owl (NSO) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1990. Once-flourishing Oregon communities… fell into catastrophic economic decline. Some have found niches to fill, but many are still far from their former glory. Regrettably, policies intended to save the NSO haven’t worked because of a more sinister enemy of the bird hiding in plain sight and severe wildfires burning habitat. …Thankfully, the FWS finalized a new rule on Jan. 15 that allows science to drive active forest management and economic growth once again. It provides more than 6 million acres of federal lands as “critical habitat” and recognizes the barred owl — not logging — as the greatest threat to the NSO. …The new rule… will help restoration activities occur … to address threats to the NSO and will support jobs and economic recovery…

Lindsay Warness

The American Forest Resource Council proudly welcomes Woodgrain as it newest member.  With sawmills in Idaho and Oregon, the company joins a growing trade association of logging and milling operations across the West. “AFRC is proud to serve Woodgrain. We are committed to helping this company obtain the wood fiber it needs to manufacture world-class wood products in a global market,” said AFRC President Travis Joseph. “The company relies, in part, on federally-owned forest lands for wood. …Without companies like Woodgrain, and the expertise and infrastructure they bring, landscape-scale forest restoration on federal lands is not possible.” Woodgrain is one of the largest millwork operations in the world.  …the company makes quality wood mouldings, doors, and windows. Woodgrain is family owned and operated …Lindsay Warness, Woodgrain’s Safety, Forest Policy and Environmental Manager, will join AFRC’s Board of Directors.

CALIFORNIA — A vast redwood forest located 80 miles north of San Francisco and sprawling nearly as large as Big Basin Redwoods State Park has received permanent protection under a deal between a Bay Area environmental group and the property’s longtime owners. Under the agreement, Save the Redwoods League paid $24.7 million to buy a conservation easement over the sweeping Mailliard Ranch. The 14,838-acre property is believed to be the largest family-owned coast redwood forest remaining in California. The Mailliard Family includes Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, wife of former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, who died Feb. 6 in Palo Alto. The family will continue to own the property and it will not be open to public access. The easement guarantees conservation in perpetuity, however. The family still will be allowed to conduct commercial logging — at half the rate currently permitted under state laws — on second-growth redwoods.

The Roaring Fork Valley experienced a spread of Douglas fir, spruce and western balsam bark beetles last year but the infestations remained light compared to many other parts of the state, according to the latest assessment.  The U.S. Forest Service and Colorado State Forest Service released results of their 2020 Forest Insect and Disease aerial survey this week. The annual flyover of the state’s forests was pared down last year because of COVID-19 challenges. It covered 16 million acres or about half of prior years. The Roaring Fork Valley was one of the priority areas.  “I can share (that the) spruce beetle has moved into the Aspen area, particularly in the northern reaches of the Elk Mountains,” Dan West, forest entomologist with the state forest service, wrote in an email.