treesource

Forest Journalism for a Sustainable Future

Tribal elders record history of fire use by indigenous people

by 1 Comment

This area of Garden Creek has been burned multiple times. The forest is open and green, more resilient to wildfires. Photo: Katy Spence

FLATHEAD RESERVATION, Montana – The Fire History Project of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes includes interviews with tribal elders who have long memories and many stories to share about the traditional knowledge and use of fire.

Several elders talk about a sxʷpaám, the Salish word for firekeeper. The sxʷpaám would carry hot coals and ashes in a container, lifting it with sticks for short journeys or in a clam-shaped container for longer journeys. If the fire went out, tribes could start a new fire using drills or flint. [Read more…]

Penn State researcher: Fire exclusion takes toll on Eastern U.S. forests

by Leave a Comment

Eastern forests, after many decades of fire suppression, when faced with prolonged drought, are more vulnerable to hotter-burning, terribly destructive wildfires, according to a researcher in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. Photo: U.S. Forest Service

Western wildfires are the headline grabbers, but forests in the eastern United States are also fire-dependent and increasingly at risk because of fire exclusion, according to a researcher at Penn State University.

“Many people have been lulled into believing that it is just the West that is prone to devastating wildfires, but that’s not true,” said Marc Abrams, professor of forest ecology and physiology, who for three decades has studied the historic role of fire in Eastern forests.

“Fire has played an important role historically in the forest ecosystem in the eastern United States, but the balance created by frequent — but not catastrophic — forest fires was upset by the Smokey Bear fire suppression regimen beginning in the late 1940s. Now, Eastern forests, when faced with prolonged drought, are more vulnerable to hotter-burning, terribly destructive wildfires.” [Read more…]

Wilderness areas are a laboratory for fire scientists, managers

by 5 Comments

Fitz fire escaping the White Cap study area Credit: Bob Mutch
Fitz fire escaping the White Cap study area Credit: Bob Mutch

The helicopter circled over a small fire in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, near the border between Idaho and Montana. It was the summer of 2013 and Dave Campbell, the U.S. Forest Service district ranger responsible for the wilderness, peered down, trying to decide how far the fire would spread.

Based on his observations of hundreds of fires in the area, he believed it would probably burn down a hill and stall out on the banks of the Selway River. The computer models backed up his prediction, so Campbell decided to let it burn. [Read more…]

In Springfield, mayor’s innovation, persistence leads timber town into future

by 1 Comment

Mayor Christine Lundberg of Springfield, Ore., is leading the community’s efforts to grow demand for mass timber and get students excited about wood and advanced manufacturing. Photo courtesy of Marcus Kauffman, Oregon Dept. of Forestry.

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Mayor Christine Lundberg had the revolutionary idea: Take a banal urban edifice – a cement parking structure – and recast it as the catalyst that connects Springfield’s rich history with a forward-thinking future.

Her citizenry concurred, and now Springfield (population 60,000) plans to build a four-story parking structure out of cross-laminated timber (CLT). [Read more…]

Gifford Pinchot’s timeless writings on forest conservation feted in new collection

by Leave a Comment

Gifford Pinchot

Gifford Pinchot knew the value of the media in spreading his message of forest conservation. The founding chief of the U.S. Forest Service frequently submitted articles to the popular press – to his considerable advantage.

Now Char Miller, Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College, has collected a sampling of Pinchot’s essays for modern-day readers. You’ll be surprised at how timely they seem. Their eloquence and impact is enduring.

Penn State University Press officially released “Gifford Pinchot: Selected Writings” on Friday, June 9. Miller is also author of “Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism” (2004) and “Public Lands, Public Debates: A Century of Controversy” (2012). [Read more…]