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Giant Sequoia May Require High-severity Blazes for their surival. Photo George Wuerthner During the summer of 2020 and 2021, with one of the most severe droughts in California’s recent history, wildfires charred thousands of acres in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the mountain range’s magnificent sequoia groves were among the areas burned. I recently visited…
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On August 16, 2020 record heat spread across California. In Death Valley the temperate reached 130 degrees. But even places on the coast, normally cool due to off shore currents, reached records seldom seen. In Santa Cruz, on Monterey Bay, the temperature rose for two days to 107 degrees. The rising temperatures gave rise to…
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A previously thinned portion of the area charred by the Dixie Fire, which despite active forest management across much of the burn area, became one of California’s largest blazes. Photo George Wuerthner The Wilderness Society (TWS), founded to promote wildland preservation, has shifted its mission and focus to promoting logging and other activities that destroy…
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More than 1.24 million acres have charred a portion of the Texas panhandle and parts of adjacent Oklahoma. The Smokehouse Blaze is the largest in Texas history and the second-largest fire in the nation’s history. It is larger than the top 20 largest wildfires in California over the past 90 years. The Smokehouse Creek fire…
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Roberts Fire near Glacier National Park, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner A few weeks ago, I attended a panel discussion about wildfires. All the panelists and the moderator suggested that large mega fires resulted from fuels that had attained unnatural levels due to a “hundred years of fire suppression.” The idea that fire suppression is responsible…
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How many people know that in the state of Washington, more wolves are killed by Native people than any other group? You probably haven’t heard about this, even from wolf advocacy groups. How many conservationists know that Native people are among the staunchest advocates for oil development on Alaska’s North Slope, including in the Arctic…
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The snag forests that result from high-severity blazes are a unique and critical habitat for numerous species. Photo George Wuerthner I was backpacking with a friend up the Yellowstone River in the Teton Wilderness of Wyoming a couple of years ago. At various times, we passed through areas that had burned severely, likely in the…
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A recent study claims active management can preclude large blazes like the Dixie Fire pictured here. Photo George Wuerthner A recent paper Forest restoration and fuels reduction work: Different pathways for achieving success in the Sierra Nevada has gotten a lot of press in the California news media. The researchers claim that “active treatments,” including…
Author
George Wuerthner is an ecologist and writer who has published 38 books on various topics related to environmental and natural history. He has visited over 400 designated wilderness areas and over 200 national park units.