The Smokey Wire : National Forest News and Views
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Three interesting items from the Western Governors Association: Working Lands Webinar. February 23-24 in Boise, but is livestreamed (and recorded). Anyone can register. Some interesting stuff on the agenda. If you’re interested, you’re invited to watch and write up your observations for a Smokey Wire post. These are always interesting to me as they … Read more
I really liked this op-ed by Dr. Jessica Western of the University of Wyoming published in WyoFile. ******************************* We who work in the field of conflict resolution have seen this process work repeatedly. In my 30 years of experience, recent examples include the Wyoming Game and Fish Department tackling the “wicked” (complex and controversial) topic … Read more
damage to forest caused by emerald ash borer; photo by Nate Siegert, USFS wood packaging marked with ISPM#15 stamp with a live Cerambycid larva Oregon Dept of Agriculture For those of you who remember the Four Threats of the early 2000’s, they were fire and fuels, invasive species, loss of open space and unmanaged recreation. … Read more
When is it OK for employees to comment on topics/projects currently under litigation? Many of the FS stories we see say that the Forest Service can’t comment on existing litigation. So I’ve described this as the litigation “cone of silence.” But I recently ran across this article (many thanks to Nick Smith!). It’s interesting about … Read more
This paper was excerpted by the WaPo here. But a new study projects that in about 35 to 60 years, mountainous states may be nearly snowless for years at a time if greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked and climate change does not slow. The resulting lack of water would be “potentially catastrophic,” according to the … Read more
There’s an excellent article on EnergyWire on Biden Administration’s policies to increase consultation and collaboration with Tribes. In the first Tribal Nations Summit since 2016, President Biden this month committed to, among other things, pursue more collaborative public lands management strategies with tribes and incorporate traditional ecological knowledge into federal agencies’ scientific analysis of projects. … Read more
Nick Smith’s Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities newsletter today has a link to a letter by a group of scientists who support the Forestry title of the Build Back Better reconciliation package pending before Congress. Signatories include some well-known folks, such as Craig D. Allen (PhD Adjunct Professor, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies University of … Read more
Another excellent, comprehensive story from Sammy Roth of the LA Times. We’ve discussed the planning processes before, and see that Roth spoke with Mark Squillace. We discussed his planning ideas here and here. To be fair, Biden’s Interior Department temporarily paused fossil fuel leasing, only for a federal judge to reject the pause as illegal. But … Read more
Really? The day after Thanksgiving? DOI releases long-awaited report on oil and gas leasing. Here’s a link. Not being an expert, and being in a hurry to get back to post-Thanksgiving cleanup, here is what I found. I bet some TSW folks already know these issues and can add or correct if I got the … Read more
Somewhere someone has analyzed this bill.. would appreciate links, because I’m sure I am missing a great deal. Or if you notice something interesting I missed, please put in in comments. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has done a nice summary here and gives attention to the wildland firefighter changes. There’s a lot in this … Read more