The following white paper, prepared by the National Wildfire Institute, explains their ideas for revitalizing our national forests through bold leadership and modernizing federal land management priorities. OUR DYING NATIONAL FORESTS; A DISASTER OR PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR BOLD ACTION BY A NEW PRESIDENT Prior to the 1980s, the U.S. Forest Service was a world leader…
Today, we grow about twice as much wood in America as we use. Our forests are getting over-crowded and stressed. Hazardous fuels are increasing. Hazardous fuels lead to catastrophic fires or the new term, Megafires. We have seen the devastating impacts of these fires with lives lost, homes destroyed, and millions of acres blackened. Federal…
Last week we had the opportunity to take KXLY-TV in Spokane to the site of the Tower Fire Salvage and Rehabilitation Project on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Thank you to Idaho Forest Group for accommodating us. Here’s the story they filed: The Tower Fire Salvage and Reforestation Project is a response to the 25,000-acre…
This excellent documentary, from The Story Group, tells the stories of Colorado firefighters confronting the growing trend of larger and more severe wildfires. It is another reminder that we can mitigate the impacts of climate change and catestrophic wildfire through active forest management. From the producers: “On a day-to-day basis, we’re being surprised. And in…
The American Wildlife Conservation Partners, a coalition of over 30 hunting and outdoors organizations, recently sent a letter to key leaders of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. In light of the committee’s recent draft legislation, the groups urged the Senators to pass meaningful, bipartisan legislation to fix federal wildfire suppression funding and approve…
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee’s ranking member, Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., is holding a forum on the “growing anti-government extremism on public lands.” Grijalva says the forum will discuss the emergence of this movement and the government’s efforts to confront these dangers, and has invited the public to send comments on the issue…
Advocates for rural Oregon say the Bureau of Land Management’s final proposed Resource Management Plan for Western Oregon will cost rural jobs, threaten public services and leave forests more vulnerable to wildfire, insects and disease. In seeking to adopt a new management plan before President Obama leaves office, they say the agency ignored pleas by…
Forest access on federal lands is essential for recreation, timber management, firefighting and law enforcement. Unfortunately the federal government has continued its aggressive efforts to destroy or decommission thousands of miles of forest roads, jeopardizing forested communities and making it difficult to fight fires and restore forests back to health. This critical issue is finally…
The barred owl was first detected within the range of the northern spotted owl (NSO) in the 1970’s. Researchers started to become concerned about the impacts the barred owl would have on the NSO in the 1980’s. In 1989, the USFWS acknowledged that the expansion of the barred owl population was of “considerable concern”. The…
Every year it’s estimated the average U.S. citizen uses the equivalent of a tree 100 feet tall, and 18 inches in diameter. We use 3.5 times more wood than we did in 1970. Yet, despite our leadership in the sustainable logging and manufacturing of softwood and hardwood lumber, the United States is a net importer…