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Forest Journalism for a Sustainable Future

California governor lays out plan to tame state’s wildfires

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A hillside smolders after flames passed through during the Ranch Fire in Clearlake Oaks, Calif., on Aug. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson/ via Courthouse News)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Courthouse News) – As the state’s largest utility pursues bankruptcy and with another wildfire season looming, California is teaming with two influential firms to protect residents and its energy grid against climate change.

In a report released Friday, advisers are pushing the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom to swiftly increase wildfire prevention efforts, commit to clean energy and expand oversight of the state’s embattled utilities.

“If anyone is wondering if climate change is real, come to California,” Newsom said at a press conference Friday. “Since 2000, 15 of the top 20 most catastrophic and destructive wildfires have occurred.”

Newsom briefed the media from the state’s emergency services headquarters on a report titled “Wildfires and Climate Change: California’s Energy Future,” prepared by the firms O’Melveny and Myers and Guggenheim Securities. He called it an “outline and an educational exercise” meant to guide the state’s next moves on climate change, energy and wildfires.

The report says climate change has fueled a new “wildfire reality” for the Golden State and the 11 million residents living in fire zones. Meanwhile, regulators must clamp down on utilities that have been blamed for sparking many of the most destructive fires in the state’s recent history, according to the report.

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Not so long ago, American cities were starved for trees

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In 1919, 1,376 new Norway maples were planted along streets in Brooklyn. Photo: Department of Parks of the Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York

Many cities, in recent years, have initiated tree planting campaigns to offset carbon dioxide emissions and improve urban microclimates.

In 2007, New York City launched MillionTrees NYC, a program designed to plant 1 million new trees along streets, in parks and on private and public properties by 2017. They hit their goal two years ahead of time.

These programs are popular for a reason: Not only do trees improve the city’s appearance, but they also mitigate the urban heat island effect – the tendency for dense cities to be hotter than surrounding areas. Studies have shown that trees reduce pollutants in the air, and even the mere sight of trees and the availability of green spaces in cities can decrease stress.

But as I show in my new book, “Seeing Trees: A History of Street Trees in New York City and Berlin,” trees weren’t always a part of the urban landscape. It took a systematic, coordinated effort to get the first ones planted.

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We must ‘pre-store’ forests for climate change

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America’s intense focus on western wildfires has recently centered on one question: Does it matter if they are being caused by climate change? While Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has drawn attention for his comments suggesting that it doesn’t much matter, others have also made a similar case. After all, if we have broad agreement on the major actions needed in our forests, do we need to agree on the root cause?

While this line of thinking is not ill-intentioned for our forests, it could be nothing less than a death sentence for them. It is absolutely essential that every single action we take in our forests is informed by our best projection of future climate change. Instead of restoring forests to some former condition, we actually need to “pre-store” them to thrive in a different and often harsher future climate than they face today. That shift in mindset will make all of the difference.

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25-year tradition: Tour des Trees bicycle ride celebrates urban forests

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Tour des Trees bicycle ride 2017
Riders on the 2017 Tour des Trees enjoy the Mount Vernon Trail in Alexandria, Va. Photo: TREE Fund

For the past 25 years, cycling enthusiasts with a passion for trees have traveled together on a 500-plus-mile weeklong ride called the Tour des Trees.

The Tour was born as an idea – a dream, really – in the minds of a few arborists at the International Society of Arboriculture conference in Philadelphia in 1991.

They were looking for a way to create a growing source of funds for the ISA Research Trust, now known as TREE Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund), to support the very necessary research and education required to keep urban trees healthy and beautiful. The dream was to use their passion for cycling as a means of promoting their love for trees.

The first Tour des Trees began a year later, with 13 riders setting off from Seattle and finishing more than 900 miles later in Oakland, Calif. It was a great success – and launched a growing tradition.

Over the past 25 years, the Tour des Trees has visited communities across the U.S., United Kingdom and Canada, increasing awareness of the importance of the urban forest and the science-based tree care that sustains it. [Read more…]

National Forest Foundation launches campaign to plant 50 million trees on national forests

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“We see a growing reforestation need across our National Forests,” said Vicki Christiansen, Interim Chief of the Forest Service. Photo: National Forest Foundation

If, as the Chinese proverb counsels, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the National Forest Foundation wants to take advantage of the second-best time: Now.

On Earth Day, the National Forest Foundation started a campaign with the lofty goal of raising enough money to plant 50 million trees on national forests over the next five years. That means raising $50 million, because a $1 donation equals one planted tree, thanks to a 2:1 match from the U.S. Forest Service.

But it’s still a challenge for an organization that has contributed to the planting of 11 million trees over the past 10 years. [Read more…]