Typical rod size of trees successful the South Plateau “treatment” area. Photo George Wuerthner
The Custer Gallatin National Forest (CGNF) connection to log the South Plateau country bordering Yellowstone National Park adjacent West Yellowstone is different illustration of the Forest Service’s quack chainsaw medicine policies.
The CGNF says the extremity of the logging is to 1- to alteration insect and illness infestation; 2- to bash commercialized harvest, and 3- to trim fuels successful the WUI oregon Fuels Priority Area.
I don’t similar to knock the Forest Service oregon question their professionalism, but erstwhile they disregard the subject clip and clip again, I cannot assistance but consciousness similar they person nary interior ethics.
The Forest Service is selling “snake oil.”
The CGNF is similar the old-time snake lipid salesman selling a magic elixir—chainsaw medicine—that volition cure the wood of perceived aboriginal ills.
Down logs and snags are captious to steadfast wood ecosystems seen present successful Yellowstone NP, but mortality from thing different than chainsaws is an anthema to the Forest Service . Dead trees are captious situation for galore plants and animals, positive supply agelong word c storage. Photo George Wuerthner
The information that the bureau sees insects and illness arsenic a crushed for “treatment” demonstrates its ain ignorance of the wood ecosystem. Dead trees and snags are captious to steadfast wood ecosystems. Some studies amusement that much taxon beryllium connected dormant trees than unrecorded trees. So however does sidesplitting and removing trees “improve” wood health?
The Forest Service uses euphemisms to deflect interest astir what they are proposing. They telephone the timber merchantability “vegetation absorption and for “treatment” of up to 5,551 acres with “tools” similar clearcutting—read logging. Another 9,107 acres would beryllium “treated” by thinning (read logging).
Treatment means sidesplitting the trees. The usage of the connection “treatment” is nary accident. The FS is suggesting the wood is “sick” and needs chainsaw medicine, oregon God forbid, it mightiness dice from insects (bark beetles), illness (mistletoe) oregon wildfire.
To licence earthy evolutionary mortality to hap is not acceptable to an bureau that sees itself arsenic a handmaiden to the timber industry.
The Forest Service volition add 56 miles of caller roads to already dense roadworthy web seen above. Roads not lone fragment habitat, but they really heighten occurrence dispersed with the good fuelds increasing on the edges, not to notation that these unfastened areas adust retired soooner and enactment arsenic upwind tunnels. Photo George Wuerthner
The full “treatment area” is astir 40,000 acres which volition beryllium fragmented by galore clearcuts and much than 56 miles of roads successful an country that is an important corridor connecting Yellowstone to roadless lands further west.
The further roads and unfastened forests volition apt harm grizzly bears arsenic good arsenic different wildlife. Photo George Wuerthner
Overall, 16,400 acres volition beryllium logged. To enactment this into position a shot tract is astir an acre.
The logic of the bureau goes thing similar this. The lodgepole conifer trees that predominate the country are reaching an property wherever they “may” beryllium susceptible to say, bark beetles, truthful they mean to “increase” wood wellness by randomly sidesplitting the trees with chainsaws.
South Plateau wood that the bureau suggests “needs to beryllium treated” to beryllium healthy. Photo George Wuerthner
Worse for our wood ecosystems, the Forest Service has nary thought which trees person a familial absorption to beetles, mistletoe, drought, and adjacent wildfire. Its wholesale slaughter of the wood doesn’t permission overmuch country for specified considerations.
Using the FS logic, we should enactment up each the radical implicit 50 years of property and sprout them, truthful we tin “improve” the wellness of the section colonisation who “may” dice from crab oregon bosom attacks.
Furthermore, galore studies person demonstrated that nether utmost occurrence conditions (which are the lone conditions wherever you get uncontrollable fires), thinning and logging increases the likelihood of occurrence spread.
We person galore examples successful Montana, including the Bitterroot Complex, Jocko Lakes Fire, Rice Ridge, and galore others that person charred hundreds of thousands of acres that person been “treated” with chainsaw medicine and burned anyhow erstwhile climate/weather conditions favored ample blazes.
Area which Darby Lumber had logged anterior to the Bitterroot Complex fires. Logging did thing to halt occurrence spread, and successful information whitethorn person enhanced it. Photo George Wuerthner
By contrast, betwixt 1972 and 1987, Yellowstone National Park allowed 235 backcountry fires to pain without suppression. Of these fires, 222 burned little than a fewer acres, and each fires self-extinguished. Then successful 1988, fractional of the parkland burned successful a azygous season.
Wind-driven flames during the 1988 fires successful Yellowstone. It was climate/weather, not fuels that drove the 1988 blazes. Photo George Wuerthner
So, what was different? Was determination much substance successful 1988 than successful 1987 oregon 1986? No. The lone quality was the weather. In 1988 the Park suffered the worst drought successful its past combined with immoderate windy days with debased humidity and precocious temperatures which enabled the occurrence to dispersed rapidly crossed the landscape.
Previously thinned and clearcut country charred by the Dixie Fire which was the largest blaze successful California successful 2021. Much of the scenery charred had been antecedently logged oregon thinned. Note the blackened stumps successful the foreground which indicates they had been logged anterior to the blaze. Photo George Wuerthner
It is weather, not fuels, that thrust ample blazes, an inconvenient information that the bureau continues to disregard due to the fact that it won’t enactment its hack wood attraction policies.
Among the different incongruent ideas espoused by the bureau is agencies’ explanation of “wildlands municipality interface,” which includes conscionable astir the full Gallatin County. Defining an country arsenic WUI means the bureau tin debar galore biology regulations and analyses.
Where wildfire adjacent Lake Tahoe burned homes to the crushed portion greenish trees survived. The country adjacent to these burned structures had been “thinned” conscionable six months before. What needs “treatment” is the location ignition zone, not the wood ecosystem. Photo George Wuerthner
Of course, galore scientists, including immoderate of the Forest Service’s researchers, person concluded that logging much than 100 feet from home provides nary other extortion against fire. However, the bureau ignores these studies to warrant logging.
All the bureau is demonstrating is that it’s not funny successful subject oregon what is champion for our forests but alternatively what is champion for the timber industry. Chainsaw medicine is simply a quack aesculapian process similar bleeding a idiosyncratic to get escaped of atrocious blood. The FS tin bash amended and should.
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