Wildfire
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If the public really understood the illogic behind Forest Service management, including those endorsed by forest collaboratives, I am certain there would be more opposition to current Forest Service policies. First, most FS timber sales lose money. They are a net loss to taxpayers. After the costs of road construction, sale layout and environmental analyses,…
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Former chair of the U of Montana Economics Department, Tom Power, often noted that most rural communities in the West see their economies in a rear view mirror. They have no idea of what is driving their current economy, and often continue to support economic activities that may be detrimental to the new unfolding economic…
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Revisiting Fire History Studies One of the cornerstones of current forest policy is the assumption that western forests are outside of their “normal” density and appearance or what is termed “historic variability” due a hundred years of mismanagement that included logging of old growth, fire suppression, and livestock grazing. This idea has been used to…
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I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees. It seems more and more there are fewer conservation organizations who speak for the forest, and more that speak for the timber industry. Witness several recent commentaries in Oregon papers which are by no means unique. I’ve seen similar themes from other conservation groups in the…
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Blaze is now 400,000 acres! Looks like the already huge fire doubled in size in a day. This is in some of Arizona’s best mountain and wildlife country. Wallow Fire continues to grow Blaze hits 389,000 acres; Eagar, Springerville lose power. Our earlier stories on the Wallow Fire. Big Arizona forest fire burns through Mexican…
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Here is an important, but little reported story from Demarcated Landscapes- Fire evacuations in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area. Update: Arizona fire: Residents forced to flee as winds fuel blaze. Threats to towns rise as governor declares a state of emergency. Arizona Republic. Update 2: Burnout to help endangered wolf pups in wildfire’s path.…
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Billings Gazette story only tells about Montana, but there is more- What a winter! I should say “what a spring.” There wasn’t much of it. April and May just kept adding to the mountain snowpack. The article below tells about Montana, but Idaho, western Wyoming and Utah are not much different. All that snow, and…
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Fire moved up to 30 miles an hour at times Southern Idaho experienced quite a wind storm Saturday night with lightning and little rain. Boise was hit hard with power outages caused by downed trees all over town due to 70 mile per hour gusts of wind. The Long Butte fire started that night and…