The Smokey Wire : National Forest News and Views
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(1) In a letter to the Trump administration sent Monday, 14 Democrats wrote that they were hearing from constituents that “the Bureau of Land Management has issued stop work orders” for projects that aim to reduce wildfire risk.
Wildfire mitigation projects caught up in Trump’s spending freeze https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5137016-trump-spending-freeze-wildfire-mitigation-projects/
From Jefferson Public Radio via Oregon Public Broadcasting: “Curry County considers using state of emergency to take over federal forests management.” Full text:
Curry County, Oregon, is considering taking over management of federal forests within its borders by applying a novel legal strategy used by a county in Arizona.
Curry County commissioners presented a draft proclamation on Wednesday to declare a state of emergency for the purpose of taking over management of public forests from federal authorities.
Those in support of the proposal say it is needed due to federal agencies’ failure to manage their forests for wildfire.
At the recent meeting, Commissioner Jay Trost claimed every major recent fire in the county occurred on state and federal land.
“The private timber industry is managing their land right,” said Trost.
The proclamation also claims that the forest mismanagement, along with state regulations for homeowners in high wildfire hazard zones, will impact county housing costs and supply.
“We’re not looking to be the owners of this federal land. The main idea is that we are going to be holding the agencies accountable to continue to do their jobs,” said Commissioner Patrick Hollinger.
Hollinger said the county isn’t trying to clear-cut forests or start strip mining. But, he said, their management would support industries like logging and biomass.
“[M]ultiple-use management, timber sales, mineral utilization and livestock grazing have been curtailed to the point of causing greatly diminished health on our forests and have created catastrophic health, safety, welfare and economic effects to Curry County,” according to the proclamation.
The proclamation alleges that federal authorities are not following legal requirements for cooperation and consultation with the county for public forest management.
Hollinger explained that the emergency declaration is modeled after a resolution used in Apache County, Arizona, to manage federal lands there. That Arizona resolution was championed by Doyel Shamley with Veritas Research Consulting who visited Curry County recently to discuss land management and the Constitution with commissioners.
The draft resolution wasn’t passed, but a public workshop on the proposal will be held next week.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
This republished story is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit opb.org/partnerships.
Full title, from The Oregonian, Feb. 7, 2025, produced by Columbia Insight. “Columbia Insight’s mission is to inform and inspire readers with original, balanced journalism about environmental issues affecting the Columbia River Basin. We publish stories that highlight the connection between the environment and all the people who call this place home.”
Excerpt:
Internal documents show the Forest Service discussing — both internally and with the timber industry — how its various legal and policy “tools” and emergency authorities related to its wildfire prevention programs could be and have been harnessed to increase sales of board feet of timber.
The documents discuss how “barriers” to achieving these “timber targets,” including civil litigation from environmental organizations, might be overcome through “streamlining” environmental oversight by using legal exemptions to the National Environmental Policy Act.
For the Forest Service and the timber industry, “streamlining” means removing some NEPA red tape. It’s a necessary step, they argue, on the way to creating a win-win scenario that will help prevent wildfires, increase board feet of timber, and, in the process, grow rural timber jobs.
Critically, many of the preferred wildfire crisis tools also allow the agency and its partners to hold onto the timber revenue rather than send it to the U.S. Treasury.
Heard from a colleague that the USFS is, or soon will, remove some materials related to climate change from its web sites — a proactive move ahead of an expected directive to do so. Anyone heard of this?
From High Country News:
“”The fire — the largest in New Mexico’s history — burned 341,725 acres, and it’s been a significant blow to the remote agricultural communities affected by it and an already precarious way of life.”
The USDA Forest Service will be releasing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for an amendment to the land management plans in the Northwest Forest Plan area. This important document outlines proposals to address challenges like increased wildfires that impact communities and forests, economic sustainability, and a changing climate across 19.4 million acres in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. See the press release below announcing the DEIS release.
We invite you to join the Northwest Forest Plan DEIS webinar to learn more. We’ll share
We are offering two dates and times for you to learn more about the amendment for the Northwest Forest Plan area and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
The Forest Service welcomes engagement throughout the amendment process. The webinars provide an opportunity to learn more.
The comment period is your opportunity in the process to offer input, to comment on the analysis, and to suggest alternative ways for the Forest Service accomplish what is proposed. Please visit the project page to comment, view project documents and learn more about the proposed amendment to the Northwest Forest Plan!
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Contact: Kristin Carver
Forest Service to release Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Northwest Forest Plan Amendment
PORTLAND, Ore., November 14, 2024 – The USDA Forest Service is seeking public input on a proposed amendment to the land management plans guiding national forests within the Northwest Forest Plan area, which span Northern California, Oregon, and Washington.
The draft Environmental Impact Statement for this amendment will be published tomorrow in the Federal Register, initiating a 120-day comment period. This will provide an opportunity for the public to share input on how these forests will be managed for decades to come.
“Much has changed in society and science since the Northwest Forest Plan was created nearly 30 years ago,” said Jacque Buchanan, regional forester for the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region. “We’re amending the plan to address today’s challenges in ways that honor the plan’s original goals, while adapting to changing conditions and enhancing wildfire resilience.”
Key Themes of the Proposed Amendment
The draft EIS focuses on balancing economic needs, ecological health, and community safety across the Northwest Forest Plan area. Themes addressed in the proposal include:
Fire Resilience
To address the increasing threat of severe wildfires, the proposed amendment provides guidance on managing forests to reflect the unique fire patterns, or fire regimes, across Northwest forests. This includes the use of hazardous fuel treatments, like mechanical thinning and prescribed fire to reduce dense vegetation to lower wildfire risk and impacts on communities, critical infrastructure, and forests, while maintaining and improving overall forest health across the landscape.
Economic Opportunities
The proposed amendment seeks to support rural economies by promoting a predictable commercial timber supply through sustainable forest restoration and timber production activities. This approach can create local jobs, provide training in forest management, and build economic resilience in communities that depend on forest resources.
Improved Forest Stewardship
The proposed amendment improves on the original Northwest Forest Plan by providing clearer, more specific guidance that distinguishes between moist and dry forest types and between young and old forests.
It also provides direction to use ecological forestry practices that promote landscapes to be more resilient to fire, retain old growth conditions to support at-risk species, and restore non-forest habitats such as meadows and huckleberry patches where they naturally belong.
These efforts would bolster the commercial timber supply in addition to fostering restoration to support species, natural resources, and community safety.
Adaptation to a Changing Climate
The proposed amendment draws on the latest science to help forests and communities adapt to the effects of a changing climate, such as the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including droughts and wildfire. The draft EIS recommends creating connected habitats to support species migration and refugia for vulnerable species, as well as promoting species better adapted to dry conditions in post-fire landscapes. This would help support resilience across the landscape and protect both natural resources and infrastructure.
Tribal Responsibilities
The proposed amendment emphasizes the Forest Service’s commitment to honoring its trust responsibilities to tribal governments and communities by involving them in land management planning and implementing forest management practices. This approach integrates tribal knowledge, values and perspectives into land stewardship.
The public is encouraged to submit comments on the draft plan during the 120-day comment period. “We want to work together to steward our public lands for social, economic and ecological sustainability,” said Jennifer Eberlien, regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region. “Input from tribes, the public and the Federal Advisory Committee has been invaluable in reaching this stage, and now we need to hear from as many voices as possible during the comment period.”
Comments can be submitted at https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/
The USDA Forest Service is amending the Northwest Forest Plan to address changed conditions with a focus on five key areas: wildfire resilience, climate change adaptation, tribal inclusion, sustainable communities, and conservation of old growth ecosystems and related biodiversity. The Forest Service is committed to preserving the elements of the plan that are working well while incorporating the latest science to help forests adapt to social, economic, cultural, and ecological changes.
The Northwest Forest Plan covers 24.5 million acres of federally managed lands in California, Oregon, and Washington. It was established in 1994 to address threats to threatened and endangered species while also contributing to social and economic sustainability in the region. After nearly 30 years, the Northwest Forest Plan needs to be updated to accommodate changed ecological and social conditions.
Additional information about the Northwest Forest Plan is available at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/r6/
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An article from Marketplace, which produces a business-oriented program for NPR.
Cool bit of background and a colorful artistic view of Prichard. A list of her publications is here.
“Today, my work involves studying the outcomes of forest management decisions—like if prescribed burning has been effective (it has!).“
GSNR’S FOREST RESILIENCY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
Involves all national forests in R5.
“GSNR’s proposed project would improve the resiliency of California’s forestlands from catastrophic wildfire by sustainably gathering and processing excess biomass into wood pellets for use in renewable energy generation, often as a replacement for fossil fuels such as coal. The proposed project would include the development of two wood pellet processing facilities, one in the foothills of the Central Sierra Nevada Mountain range, in Tuolumne County, and one in the Modoc Plateau of Northern California, in Lassen County. The finished pellets would then be transported by rail to the Port of Stockton for international shipping.”
Q9. Is GSNR’s project supported by the U.S. Forest Service?
Yes. GSNR’s forest resiliency project is supported through a 20-year Master Stewardship Agreement signed with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for all eighteen national forests in Region 5 (emphasis added) (covering much of California) to undertake forest management, restoration treatments, and fuel reduction activities. In this Agreement, USFS expressly acknowledged that this project will have significant benefits including, but not limited to, the following:
• Increase the number of acres of forest land treated substantially over the next twenty years.
• Decrease forest fuels, resulting in enhancing forest resiliency and reducing the risk of uncharacteristic catastrophic wildfires and benefitting air quality in both rural and urban California.
• Restore ecological/watershed functions through forest restoration activities resulting in improved watershed conditions resulting in cleaner and more plentiful water.
• Enhance wildlife habitat.
• Enhance public safety for residents, visitors, communities, and infrastructure.
• Provide an economical solution to the largescale removal of biomass from the state’s forests.
• Enhance carbon sequestration.
“The budget cut’s impact on hiring extends beyond seasonal workers. The agency also announced that, with very few exceptions, it won’t be hiring any external candidates for any position within the agency, meaning that any open positions will have to be filled by current employees. And since seasonal work is a common steppingstone to a permanent role, many temporary workers who hoped for a career in public-land management now find themselves at a loss.”