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Wildfires and Climate Change: What can be done after the fire?

It is estimated the average tree takes in 1.5 pounds of carbon dioxide and gives off roughly a pound of oxygen for every pound of wood grown. That’s why addressing climate change requires actively managing forests to maintain the healthy, growing trees needed to remove significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On average,…

Patt Dorsey: Forest Managers Need a Toolbox

Patt Dorsey is the Director of Conservation Operations for the National Wild Turkey Federation. The NWTF’s mission is delivered primarily through habitat enhancement and conservation projects. The NWTF is working with the USFS and other partners across the US to improve forests. The Rocky Mountain Restoration Initiative, in Colorado, is focused on increasing the pace…

Researchers are pushing back against ‘agenda-driven science’

A forestry professor once wrote whenever we “hear ‘the science is clear,’ it should raise a red flag about both the science itself and the person making the proclamation.” The professor adds: “…for an individual who states in a policy context that ‘the science is clear,’ there seems a high likelihood that they have: a)…

Congress proposes billions in new forest spending– with strings attached

This year U.S. Forest Service-protected lands account for more than half of acres burned. Chief Randy Moore recently told the House Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, “We must actively treat forests. That’s what it takes to turn this system around.”  As reported in previous newsletters, the U.S. Congress responded by proposing billions in new spending…

What Happened to Southern Oregon’s Forests in Spring 2020?

Learn more about Montana forestry and forest products in Clancy, MT

Montana Forest Products Week is October 17-23, 2021. All Montanans benefit from the sustainable management of the state’s forests, whether it is providing clean air and water, abundant recreation and wildlife, wood products we use daily or good paying jobs. If you’d like to learn more about Montana forestry, join Marks Lumber for an open…

Wildfires: Focusing on the solutions to save our forests and communities

The scale and intensity of this year’s wildfires are staggering. California’s Dixie Fire on the Plumas National Forest could soon reach 1,000,000 acres. Oregon’s Bootleg Fire on the Fremont-Winema National Forest, now fully contained, covers 413,000 acres.  The Caldor Fire, which was threatening South Lake Tahoe and nearby communities and is now affecting the quality of Lake Tahoe’s…

Wildfire Smoke: Bad for our health, bad for our climate

Researchers are just beginning to understand the risks of wildfire smoke to public health and our climate. Emerging scientific research points to the need for more active management on unhealthy forests to reduce the heavy fuels that are contributing to larger and more severe wildfires. Bad for Public Health: Wildfire smoke contains carbon monoxide, sulfur…

Oregon’s ‘Rivers Democracy Act’ is a really bad idea

What is S.192? Introduced by Senators Merkley and Wyden, the bill (known as the ‘River Democracy Act’) would add nearly 4,700 miles of Oregon “rivers” to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.  Here’s why it’s a really bad idea: First, what are “Wild and Scenic Rivers?” The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968…

Why Wildfire Solutions Require More Than Money

In July alone, wildfires burning across the Western U.S. emitted enough carbon dioxide to wipe out more than half of the region’s pandemic-driven emissions reductions in 2020. California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington saw fossil-fuel emissions decline by around 69 million tons of carbon dioxide last year. But from July 1 to July 25, fires in…