…For decades in this chaparral-covered ecosystem, it’s been a ritual: after the burn comes the rebuild. But as the nation’s most populous state stares down a seething climate crisis, one that cranked temperatures into triple digits last fall and set off a series of infernos that exploded, into bone dry air, the rebuilding process is beginning to look different. California has battled dual crises, with the largest wildfire season on record breaking out in the midst of the pandemic. At the close of 2020, as millions of Californians were put under a second lockdown, more than 4.2 million acres of the state had been scorched by nearly 10,000 fires. But in many ways, the crises have split the state into two: Northern California continues to reel from multiple megafires. … And in Southern California, Los Angeles is now the epicenter of the pandemic.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University have found that the blue orchard bee, an important native pollinator, produces female offspring at higher rates in the aftermath of wildfire in forests. The more severe the fire had been, the greater percentage of females – more than 10% greater in the most badly burned areas relative to areas that burned the least severely. …Jim Rivers, an animal ecologist with the OSU College of Forestry said, “sex ratio varied under different fire conditions but the number of young produced did not, which indicates bees altered the sex of their offspring depending on the degree of fire severity.” Female bees control the sex of their offspring, laying eggs fertilized with sperm that become females, or non-fertilized eggs that become males. …the rise in floral resources that comes after high-severity fire causes females to reallocate resources to the larger and more costly sex – females – when nesting.

TRI-CITIES, Wash. — The Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and Rep. Larry Springer have unveiled House Bill 1168 to create a dedicated funding source for wildfire response, forest restoration and community resilience strategies. The legislation would create a first-of-its-kind dedicated funding account for wildfire response, forest restoration, and community resilience. Commissioner Franz is asking the Legislature to create this account and fund it with $125 million each biennium. “Out-of-control wildfires now threaten families and communities on both sides of the Cascades,” said Commissioner Franz, who leads our state’s wildfire fighting force. …Dedicated funding would help the state’s wildfire response, adding 100 new firefighters, new firefighting aircraft and fire detection technology, and support for local fire districts that are often the first ones to respond to wildfire.

Democratic lawmakers in Congress have begun trying to reinstate the Roadless Rule for Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. They’ve filed a bill that would reverse the Trump administration’s decision to exempt the nation’s largest national forest from the 2001 rule that restricts road-building and other development. And with the U.S. Senate slated to change hands, the bills filed in both chambers on Tuesday have better prospects than previous efforts. The Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2021 mirrors past bills. …Alaska’s Congressional delegation and many state leaders hailed the Tongass exemption, finalized last October. It could open up 185,000 acres of old growth forest in Southeast Alaska to logging. But it’s proven controversial. Forest Service hearings in recent years showed the Clinton-era rule had strong support both in Alaska and Outside.