… of one thing we all believe in. Nature is wonderful and beautiful, and worthy of our respect.
This was scanned from one of my oldest Kodachrome slides. It was a great day in the mid 1980’s for some telemark ski mountaineering at Lake Tahoe.
Larry Harrell Fotoware
Retaining Snag Habitat
Here is a view of some other cutting units within the Power Fire. Above the road were tractor units, and a narrow stretch below the road, due to stream buffers, was helicopter yarded. Again, you see ample snag “recruitment”, years after salvage logging. Remember, we were also salvaging some trees with poor live/dead crown ratios. I do know that the marking was aggressive, as I did much of the inevitable follow-up marking, during the summer season.
What is really interesting about the tractor unit is how well the logger’s “alternate method” worked. My logger had a processor/loader, an excavator with a grapple attachment, a dozer and two skidders. The excavator would go out on the skid trails and grab/bundle the logs to orient them where the skidder can “grab-and-go”. Their crew was very experienced and efficient, not making messes they would have to clean up.
The Power Fire, and the Blackbacked Woodpecker
This helicopter unit experienced significant dieback, even as the fallers returned multiple times. The marking guidelines allowed for cutting trees with low crown ratios, and with the Forest Service getting projects together so quickly (six months!), the bark beetles hadn’t run their course, yet. In addition to the snag specifications in the project’s plans, you can clearly see that there are a great many more snags now, than the plans required. Also important in this is that snag of certain sizes had to be cut and flown out, as part of the fuels treatment (a HUGE expenditure!) The Power Fire salvage project was halted by the Ninth Circuit Court, due to the new salvage marking guidelines, and a perceived need for more blackbacked woodpecker analysis. The cutting unit below was completed, though.
Also seen in the foreground is that nasty bear clover, which will dominate, until it is shaded out, or killed with herbicides. It is great to have this smelly carpet (AKA mountain misery) under a nice canopy but, in this case, it will hinder all trees from germinating and growing. Their roots can go 12 feet deep. Even the deerbrush is kept at bay by the bear clover.
The Power Fire, Six Years Later
This wildfire, on the Amador Ranger District, of the Eldorado National Forest. was sparked by crews cutting hazard trees along powerlines. I was a Sale Administrator, detailed to help salvage timber and accomplish contract work over 55% of the burned area. New marking guidelines, ordered by the courts, were first used on this project. While the plans survived a lower court challenge, the infamous Ninth Circuit Court decided that the new guidelines were “confusing” and more analysis regarding the blackbacked woodpecker was needed.
Here is what one of the cutting units looks like today. Choked with deerbrush, with not much in the way of conifers established.
This picture shows the striking contrast of Forest Service, versus private timberlands. You can clearly see the property lines and the section corner. What you cannot see is the accelerated erosion that came off the private lands, impacting the road at the bottom of the picture. Between the deerbrush and the the thick bear clover, conifers have little chance to recover, and a re-burn might be in the future for this patch of Federal land. The upper tract of Federal land seems to have no standing snags left, due to blowdown. The rest of the area seems to be choked with snags that died since harvesting was completed. At least SOME of the fuels for a future wildfire have been significantly reduced.
This area has a history of Indian occupation, and the forest still shows it. The bear clover re-grew and covered the bare soil within 6 months. Today, people would be hard-pressed to find ANY logging damage, on this side of the fire area. What really amazed me is that this project has ALREADY suffered a re-burn. The fuels reduction definitely saved the remaining old growth from burning to a crisp. This forest has its resilience back, has a better species composition, and seems ready for a regular program of prescribed fire.
As you can see, the light and the weather didn’t cooperate. I’m sure I will be going back to capture some more images, and to compare them to the photos I took six years ago.
Yet another “controlled” burn escapes!
http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2874/
Sadly, it appears that fire folks can’t be trusted to safely accomplish prescribed fires. Their overconfidence has again resulted in destroyed homes and damages to private property. This area is well known for its terrain-enhanced winds, known as the “Washoe Zephyr”. High winds had been forecast, as well, and it appears that fire crews didn’t make sure the fire was fully extinguished. Gusts of 35 mph are expected for today, and the fire is burning towards more difficult terrain. It always seems like firefighters are more concerned with “good burning conditions”, rather than public safety. Perish the thought that it might be too wet for “complete combustion”.
Are YOU ready to welcome a prescribed fire in your “neighborhood”?
Update: The TV news says that more structures are threatened.
April Showers…
… bring Maple flowers!
I went to Yosemite Valley on Monday and saw the waterfalls, maybe at their spring peaks. Luckily, here in California, our wet spring has helped us avoid a terrible water year. This week had free admission to our National Parks, and I had no excuse to not get up there and collect a bunch of pictures. I took 547 pictures, in all!
I also was asked about my availability to work on the marking crew on the adjacent Ranger District. They saw my name and acted quickly to get the wheels turning. Hopefully, I can do that job, given my elderly condition. (smirks)
“I think that I shall never see….”
I’ve always loved Jonathon Winters but, who knew he was so savvy about trees and forests? Here is a classic old Public Service Announcement, for your amusement and enlightenment.
Giant Jeffreyii’s
Many of you have seen ponderosa pine but, its higher-and-drier cousin, the Jeffrey Pine, is pretty easily identified. There are some areas where the two species compete with each other but, their “preferred habitats” are different. While ponderosas have a more yellow-green needle color, the Jeffrey is more grey-green. What I like best about the Jeffreys are their oversized limbs. They put a lot more effort into growing these very stout, large diameter limbs. Since Jeffrey “habitat” is more open, with more groundwater, maybe those big limbs are just a way of the tree using up energy not needed for growing so tall and dominant. Of course, the easiest way to tell the two species apart is the old saying; “Gentle Jeffrey, Prickly Ponderosa”, when handling their cones.
Way back in 1987, I was working on the Hat Creek RD off the Lassen NF, and we had a bunch of lightning fires. Three crews from the east came in on buses and as soon as they stepped off the bus, they saw these ancient Jeffrey pines. They stared at them for a while until the mushroom cloud from the big fire we had caught their attention. We had 43 fires burning during those three days of lightning.
Alternative Reality Check?
In looking over a Record of Decision, I found some new and old stuff, regarding NEPA alternatives.
The first one is being called “The Environmentally Preferable Alternative”, which seeks to dispel the calls to remove discretion from Forest Service bigwigs.
“NEPA implementing regulations require agencies to specify “the alternative or alternatives which were considered to be environmentally preferable” [40 CFR 1502.2(b)]. Forest Service policy further defines the environmentally preferable alternative as “…an alternative that best meets the goals of Section 101 of NEPA…” (FSH 1909.15). Section 101 of NEPA describes national environmental policy, calling on Federal, state, and local governments and the public to “…create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony.” Section 101 further defines this policy in six broad goals:
• Fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee of the environment for succeeding generations
• Assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive, and esthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings
• Attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other undesirable and unintended consequences
• Preserve important historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage, and maintain wherever possible, an environment which supports diversity and variety of individual choiceRecord of Decision for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Travel Management Plan FEIS Record of Decision 13
• Achieve a balance between population and resource use which will permit high standards of living and a wide sharing of life’s amenities
• Enhance the quality of renewable resources and approach the maximum attainable recycling of depletable resourcesBased on the description of the alternatives considered in detail in the FEIS and this record of decision, I believe that the selected alternative best meets the goals of Section 101 of the National Environmental Policy Act and is therefore the environmentally preferable alternative for this proposed Federal action.”
This appears to be the justification for his decision that this is the best alternative for the land, overall, balancing the impacts with the benefits. I’m wondering if the Federal lawyers have had input on such statements, and if the Forest Service folks have had training in how to make their statements as legally-supportable, as possible. I know that my experience in contract documents had me choosing my wording very carefully. Overall, I welcome the transparency and the willingness of Forest Supervisors to do their jobs, (and I hope they do it well).
“The no action alternative serves as the baseline used to compare the effects of the proposed action and alternatives. No new management activities are proposed. Current biological and physical processes would be allowed to continue on their present trajectories along with associated risks and benefits. None of the management activities described in the proposed action or the other action alternatives would be implemented to accomplish project goals. Commercial thinning, fuels treatments for activity and natural fuels, and prescription burning would not be authorized. There would be no temporary road construction or treatment of fuels in riparian habitat conservation areas. Hardwood restoration and road decommissioning activities would not be authorized. There would be no amendment to the forest plan to allow specific treatments needed to increase stand health and resilience in the planning area. For the no action alternative, current management plans would continue to guide management of the project area. Other approved projects would continue in the project area. In addition, other public uses, such as recreation, hunting, and firewood gathering would continue as permitted.”
This is a VERY tiny paragraph explaining what happens if nothing is done at all. The social and economic losses need to be studied and presented, as well as a projection of the next 30 years for the probable outcomes. Judges, and the public, needs to know what ALL is at stake, including the full ecological costs of doing nothing, within the framework of today’s realities.
Mono Lake Tufa Preserve
On the south shore of the picturesque Mono Lake is a collection of rock formations known as tufa. For thousands of centuries, the level of Mono Lake has fluctuated, with ancient lakeshores easily visible from commercial airliners. As the lake rises, more minerals cling to the existing structures, building them larger and taller. It really seems unlikely that the water levels will be rising, in the near future, even with the waters from Rush Creek being permanently sustained. There are just a few pocket glaciers left in the Sierra Nevada but, there were some very wet years in the 80’s which pushed water levels higher. This is a Forest Service site, which requires a fee or pass. Improvements include a nice boardwalk, bathrooms, a parking area and periodic road grading.
I stayed until well after sundown, capturing some dramatic shots. There were about another 30 photographers there, as well. It is a fragile place but, I haven’t seen much damage in the 30 years since I first saw it.