Trees Forests

  • White Pine County, Nev. – A Western Watersheds Project appeal forced the Ely BLM to withdraw a recent decision to destroy Wyoming big sagebrush, black sage, and pinyon-juniper communities across the Newark watershed and parts of the Huntington Valley in Nevada. The BLM planned to use the cheatgrass-causing herbicide Tebuthiuron, mowers, bulldozers and other heavy…

  • Warning after warning was given- Although first reports from local officials after the lethal mud slide were basically, “we had no idea, a bolt from the blue, this came out of nowhere, an Act of God,” etc., many warnings were given over the years from experts, agencies and the state. There were actions to stop and…

  • 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…

  • Black Forest Colorado fire destroys almost 400 homes- – – – – – – Update: On June 20 the Black Forest fire was contained after 500 houses had burned. RM – – – – – – The first day of summer is just about here, and wildfires are breaking out across much of the Western…

  • I’ve been studying fire ecology for decades, an interest which led to the publication in 2006 of my book WIldfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy. My interest in wildfire did not end with the book and I have continued to read and digest the fire-related literature, attend conferences, and most importantly visit and observe…

  • Another surprise. The real carbon absorbers are the temperate and boreal forests. Tropical forests are too compromised by humans- One of the best things that could happen to the future of our existence, IMO, would be the collapse of News Corps in the current scandal. Rupert Murdoch and crew have largely  taken Australia, the U.K.…

  • Critical high altitude pine has been nearly wiped out by beetles, fire, blister rust- These trees with fat rich nuts are already getting federal government attention, but mortality is even worse than thought. The large majority of whitebark grow on U.S. public lands. The work will concentrate on protecting existing stands using pheromones to confuse…

  • Canadian tar sands are not just about turning Alberta’s boreal forest into a wasteland. Transport of the product has many dangers, ill-effects. ____________ They haul their giant equipment around the world disrupting the roadside environment to dig tar sands in Alberta, turning hundreds of square miles into lifeless pits. Ah, but they produce oil!  They…

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