treesource

Forest Journalism for a Sustainable Future

Climate change: Winter is warming, but not at the same rate nationwide

by Leave a Comment

A new temperature analysis by the scientists and journalists at ClimateCentral.org shows the manifestation of global warming in various regions of the United States.

The implications for forests in each region are, of course, significant. But the new analysis provides a different seasonal perspective on what’s happening.

In the Northeast, Great Lakes and Northern Plains, for example, wintertime warming is the most dramatic. Average winter temperatures in Burlington, Vermont, have increased by 7 degrees since 1970 – and they’re still on the rise.

[Read more…]

Northwestern Montana forest provides Capitol’s 79-foot-tall Christmas spruce

by Leave a Comment

Trucker Larry Spiekermeier pulled into the nation’s capital a little after 4 a.m. Monday, delivering his 79-foot-tall cargo. Photo: U.S. Forest Service

Grown to the height of a high-rise on northwestern Montana’s remote Kootenai National Forest, the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree reached its destination Monday after a 3,460-mile journey across the country.

Trucker Larry Spiekermeier made his delivery before dawn, after a stop Sunday at Joint Base Andrews, where members of the U.S. Air Force helped to unwrap the tree before the final few miles of its travels.

On Monday, a crane hoisted the tree into place on the west side of the Capitol, where a lighting ceremony – led by Montana Sen. Jon Tester – is planned for Dec. 6. [Read more…]

Western wildfires: Scientists know the answers, panelists say, but will citizens take action?

by 3 Comments

Many in the audience of nearly 200 Tuesday night remained after the discussion to engage with panelists and one another. Photo: Katy Spence/Treesource

Earth is a flammable planet. It’s been that way for 320 million years, since vegetation first took hold on the land.

“So fire is this natural phenomenon,” said Phil Higuera. “But when it interacts with humans, it is truly a disaster.”

Thus the eight experts on everything from insurance to incident command who gathered Tuesday night in Missoula to reflect on the 2017 wildfire season – and on how, after 320 million years, humans can learn to live with fire. [Read more…]

Forest restoration project saved homes, but can it be duplicated across the West?

by Leave a Comment

This Aug. 28, 2017 photo from Inciweb shows a wildfire near Sisters, Ore. A few months before the fire, the U.S. Forest Service and local environmental, logging and recreational interests thinned part of the overgrown forest, creating a buffer zone around Sisters. Photo: Inciweb

Folks in Sisters, Oregon, are crediting an auspiciously timed collaborative forest-thinning project with saving homes – and some are even saying, their community – this summer when a wildfire marched their way.

And while experts near and far agree the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project slowed the fire and gave firefighters a chance at containment, they wonder how often and widespread the collaborative project can be replicated in Western forests that historically burned at regular intervals.

In the case of Sisters, the restoration work happened last spring and included thinning trees and brush as well as prescribed burns. The intent was to create a buffer zone around the tourist town, and it worked precisely as intended. [Read more…]

Climate change or overgrown forests? Or time to let go of either-or thinking?

by Leave a Comment

Much of the Chetco Bar fire near Brookings, Oregon, burned in a wilderness area. Photo: U.S. Forest Service

The editor of Oregon Business is urging her state’s residents to let go of “either-or thinking” in the wake of this year’s calamitous wildfire season.

“Are fires in Oregon intensifying because of poor forest management strategies?  Or are hotter, drier summers at fault?” Linda Baker asked in a recent column. “Letting go of either-or thinking is the first step in reckoning with the problem.”

She had no trouble finding agreement. [Read more…]