Maybe I just noticed it, but there are many organizations that can think of bad things for the environment or federal lands every day. There’s even this one today that says “even though things may seem OK, they’re really not.” It’s pretty relentless. So today, I’m going to focus on other kinds of things. The last three items are thanks to Nick Smith.
Kudos to Forest Service Research Public Affairs Folks!– I don’t know how many people noticed this, but during the time of worrying about FS R&D being penciled out, the public affairs folks at FS R&D put out an amazing number of posts describing how useful their work is. Way to go, Communications Folks!!! Especially since they were probably having to deal with the great web problems of the rest of the agency.
Here’s the July National Research Digest, complete with a read- along with Smokey Bear.
Watch the video read-along of “Meet Smokey Bear’s Team!” Meet Smokey and some of the people who work with him to prevent human-caused wildfires, learn new vocabulary words, and complete a fun activity. The video is geared for early readers from kindergarten through 2nd grade and can be enjoyed with or without the printed publication.
Here’s a link to Matt Reeves latest video on targeted grazing. And here’s one that includes the long-term nature of the Experimental Forests and Ranges, called Science for Productive Forests: Conducting and Analyzing Long-Term Research.
I’m not sure I’m on the email list for all the Stations, so please contact me if you’re in public affairs and not in the WO or RM Station.
Charolais Herd Run Off Grizzly
Video of herd of Charolais chasing off grizzly bear in Montana.
Bipartisan Housing Solutions by the Western Governors
So many housing programs, so much bureaucracy! Their entire policy resolution: Housing is Foundationals to the Success of the West is interesting but re: land purchases for housing.
Western Governors urge Congress to pass legislation facilitating the purchase of federal land by state or local governments at a reduced price for the purpose of increasing the supply of residential housing. We also request that the federal government honor existing commitments to transfer land to state or local governments in a reasonable amount of time.
Good News for Wildland Firefighters
Last month, the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service announced a new program that provides firefighters with access to expanded mental health care. The program provides 16 free therapy sessions through a network of licensed providers across the country. It will be rolled out as part of the Federal Wildland Fire Health and Wellbeing Program, which aims to help the Interior Department and Forest Service better understand the physical and mental toll of fighting wildfires.
Other initiatives from public and private groups are working to support mental health care for firefighters, including the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, and others.
Innovative solutions such as mobile health clinics for first responders are also cropping up in states like Texas, which can bring mental health care directly to first responders.
California tribe taps seldom-used USDA program to acquire ancestral forest land
The Potter Valley Tribe has acquired 48 acres of ancestral land in Mendocino County through a federal program that helps communities purchase forest property for conservation. The federally recognized tribe partnered with the Trust for Public Land, the Forest Service and First Nations Development Institute to establish the Pomo Community Forest using the USDA’s Community Foreset and Open Space Conservation program. Located between Jackson State Forest and Jug Handle State Natural Reserve, the coastal parcel will provide space for cultural programming, public recreation and traditional education, according to a Trust for Public Land announcement. The tribe plans habitat restoration projects, protection of culturally significant plants and foods, and forest resilience efforts. Tribal funds and grants will cover long-term management costs.
Kootenai Tribe vs. CBD: Knotty Pine Project
The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho intervened in the case to advocate in support of the Knotty Pine Project as consistent with the tribe’s goal of preserving the land.
“The tribe really wants to see restoration take place for the benefit of everyone, the grizzly bear, and their treaty rights,” said attorney Julie Weis, who practices with the Portland firm Haglund Kelley.
“Just because they couldn’t conduct a quantitative analysis doesn’t mean they ignored the issue, they issued a very good qualitative assessment,” Weis said.
What’s missing in this story is … how exactly, and why can’t they just fly away from fire? Maybe someone knows.
Being endangered, these birds are tracked using GPS. Fortunately, they found most weren’t even in the area when the fires sparked. “They spend this time of year up in Utah, so we’re very fortunate with that,” said Brown.
However, that wasn’t the case for all of them; a total of three were evacuated as a precaution. “Once this fire started, they took a precautionary measure and they evacuated those birds,” said Brown, ”They have some different facilities up there in different places. They’ve moved them towards the marble canyon area, which is a little farther from the fire and a little safer.”
About the Charolais cattle,,, I remember reading that the cattle grown in northern India would drive away tigers.
Thanks for the R&D shout out. We wish we could use more methods than are permitted right now to share the stories. People can still access Forestcast podcast previously recorded.
You can always send me links to what you have, or perhaps what other people have written about projects and I will post. Your work is greatly appreciated!
It says the condors were evacuated as a “precautionary measure,” probably because “stuff” happens and you never know – these are valuable birds.
How do you catch them to evacuate them?
“All wild condors are tagged with radio transmitters that allow us to track their movements while we are in the field.”
“We’re often asked how we can catch a bird with a 9-ft plus wingspan. It starts by luring them to the flight pen in the sanctuary with a carcass. The field staff watches quietly in an adjacent blind; they might need to wait for hours for a bird to enter the pen. If the bird is one that is on their trapping list, they pull a lever to close the pen door. They might catch several birds or more in one day.” (I assume they can do this wherever they know the birds to be, not just “sanctuaries.”)
https://www.ventanaws.org/condorfieldwork.html
Interesting.. thanks! You’d think (if they didn’t want to be caught) the condors would catch on to this.