The Smokey Wire : National Forest News and Views
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From the Center for Biological Diversity: FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.— The U.S. Forest Service awarded one of the largest-ever tree-cutting contracts in the history of the national forest system today to a timber company represented by a retired Forest Service official. While he was a federal employee, the official was the agency’s liaison to that same company’s … Read more
Obama admin vows to speed restorations, increase timber harvests Phil Taylor, E&E reporter The Obama administration announced plans to accelerate today the restoration of 193 million acres of forests and grasslands, a proposal expected to significantly increase timber harvests. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also announced more than a dozen new collaborative restoration projects made possible … Read more
Congressman Paul Gosar, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, represents Arizona’s First Congressional District. Column: Forest policy must be proactive, sustainable By U.S. REP PAUL GOSAR Special to the Courier This year, our communities have been victims of the largest forest fires in recorded history. The Wallow fire on the Apache-Sitgreaves Forest grew … Read more
When we sometimes tire of our “word wars” here, we need to remember that they are just one manifestation of broader holy wars being waged in and around our public lands. Long Road to War Utilitarian ideology has been a mainstay in forest policy development since the early 1900s when Gifford Pinchot and Bernhard Fernow … Read more
By Martin Nie, University of Montana A defining characteristic of these initiatives is their shared goal of securing greater certainty and predictability in national forest management. This manifests itself in numerous ways. First, it explains why some groups have chosen to pursue national forest-specific legislation, and in other cases, why some groups have formalized their … Read more
This is my introductory post related to an important emerging trend: the increasing interest in “place-based” (national forest-specific) legislation and the use of formalized agreements/MOUs between the USFS and various collaborative groups. We’ve had some discussion of Senator Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act already (here’s my perspective on it). Another controversial bill is … Read more
Here’s a link to the press release: USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore today announced new funding and a redesigned strategy for the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) during a visit with elected officials in Arizona. The agency will be committing $54 million dollars in fiscal year 2022 to accelerate the needs for implementing high-priority … Read more
From the AZ Daily Sun: “U.S. Forest Service hopes new minimum rates can help clear forests” — thanks to Nick Smith of Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities for the link. In areas with no-value biomass, paying to have it hauled away may be an option to leaving it in place or burning it. The U.S. Forest … Read more
Litigation Weekly Aug 3 FOTWS v. Kehr The district court upheld the Beaver Creek Landscape Restoration Project on the Flathead National Forest in Montana against NEPA, NFMA consistency and ESA (Canada lynx) claims. (D. Mont.) McGuinness v USFS The Fourth Circuit upheld a decision by the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina to authorize development … Read more
I think having the Campbell Group as the subcontrator on the Four Forests Initiative stewardship contract is a very good thing, and answers critics who noted that Good Earth Power has no experience with forestry in the US (it had focused, so far, on Africa. Article from Greenwire: Major forest-thinning project switched to billion-dollar international … Read more