Category: Forest Health

Forest Management & the Timber Industry

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“The National Forest management program in this Region falls far short of meeting the need for hazardous fuels reduction and forest restoration.  In our region alone, the U.S. Forest Service recognizes that millions of acres are in need of restoration, yet the timber target for Fiscal Year 2013, which includes both timber sales and stewardship contracts, was only about 450,000 CCF.  Our states are home to re-emerging forest products businesses that can partner with the U.S. Forest Service, yet the dramatic gap between what these businesses can manage and the timber targets of the RMR endanger their viability and success just as they are about to reach a scale that could meaningfully contribute to more proactive management of forest health.” Read the full letter from Rocky Mountain Region U.S. Senators and Representatives to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack by clicking here.   

A new paper discussing fuels and fire in bark beetle impacted forests is available

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A recently published report in the journal Forest Ecology and Management, authored by Michael J. Jenkins, Wesley G. Page, Elizabeth G. Hebertson, and Martin E. Alexander, titled, “Fuels and fire behavior dynamics in bark beetle-attacked forests in Western North America and implications for fire management,” discusses the consequences of the beetle epidemic on fire and fuels .  While the bark beetle is endemic in our area, the discussion and implications can be related to the WPHFI area as we continue to control the beetle outbreaks.

Forest Management Misguided?

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In a recent article titled, “Front Range Forest Thinning May be Misguided,” researcher William Baker and Mark Williams of the University of Wyoming indicate that “current efforts to uniformly thin Front Range ponderosa forests and reduce fire intensity may be misguided and may not restore them. Instead, the aggressive management could take even farther from the natural historic range of variability with potential negative consequences for wildlife”.

This is an important addition to the research available regarding the management of our forests; however, the scientific community has already realized that the goals of forest management just for fuels reduction and wildfire protection was not ideal.  Today, the discussions relating to forest management focus on the concept of restoration.  Forest restoration seeks to protect forests by learning from the past, and managing forests for diversity of species, resiliency to disease and insects and fire.

To view the article in the Summit County Citizens voice Click Here.

Watershed Health and Forest Management

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U.S. Forest Service and Denver Water Partner for Watershed Health. Please download and read this article written by Kate E. Jerman, a STEP Student in External Affairs for the Rocky Mountain Region of the US Forest Service.

STEP – The Student Temporary Assistance Program provides an opportunity for students to earn money, continue their education, train with professionals, and combine academic study with on-the-job experience.