Logging and wildfires

[Fritz the Cat]

WOW......that guy is pissed and rightly so. Where are the Friends of ____ now? Well said.

 

[gst]

And the beat goes on as Mt burns...........

http://flatheadbeacon.com/2016/09/13/kootenai-forest-project-blocked-days-logging-begin/

HELENA — Two federal appellate judges have blocked a Kootenai National Forest logging project two days before cutting was to begin.
The East Reservoir Project approved by the U.S. Forest Service calls for logging 8,845 acres of forest on the east side of Lake Koocanusa, approximately 15 miles east of Libby. The timber total — roughly 39 million board feet – represents more board feet than the Kootenai National Forest typically harvests in a year. The timber harvest in 2012 was 24 million board feet. During the logging heyday of the 1980s, however, the annual Kootenai timber harvest often topped 200 million board feet.
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies sued to stop the project, saying it could harm bull trout, grizzly bear and lynx habitat.

 

[dblkluk]

Forests manage themselves by lighting on fire. So did all the grass in North Dakota. 1000 years ago no one gave a shit. The people there went elsewhere and came back later. Now that folks live permanently in these areas there are issues. Now that intervention is necessary to save towns and cities there needs to be some management. Much in the same way code tells people they need to clean up their yards to avoid a spark turning the entire town into a fireball, dead and dying trees need to be cleaned up in order to avoid to prevent a forest from doing the same. There is many years of logging to be done in these forests without cutting down a living tree. Get it done. The carbon footprint the econuts love to talk about left by these fires is bonkers compared to some super dutys driving around.

LOL! its not very profitable to run through a forest and cut only the dead trees and avoid the live ones.

Timber is a commodity and no matter how much logging is needed, logging is not going to happen without profit.

 

[gst]

The talley is now over 800,000 acres burned. Actual real life impacts to environmental org. lawsuits.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

This picture is from Cascade Hatchery at Cascade Locks. They had to early release 600,000 Chinook and Coho Salmon.

 

[Kurtr]

LOL! its not very profitable to run through a forest and cut only the dead trees and avoid the live ones.

Timber is a commodity and no matter how much logging is needed, logging is not going to happen without profit.

not so there is a huge market for the beetle killed pine or blue pine.

 

[gst]

not so there is a huge market for the beetle killed pine or blue pine.

My uncle spent most of one winter digging thru Menards lumber to find enough to build his kitchen cabinets with. They are pretty damn nice. The guys at Menards ...not so much when he showed up. they finally just left him alone.

 

[Kurtr]

My father in law did his whole trophy room with it. Got it from a mill in the hills but they only have a run so often due to "regulations" of cutting down dead beetle killed timber. My wife wants it on the wall in the family room of the basement when we start to finish that. I am about carpentered out

 

[gst]

LOL! its not very profitable to run through a forest and cut only the dead trees and avoid the live ones.

Timber is a commodity and no matter how much logging is needed, logging is not going to happen without profit.

http://flatheadbeacon.com/2017/09/07/state-state-look-standing-dead-trees-western-us/

 

[gst]

Neat article.

http://www.sustainablelumberco.com/2015/03/beetle-kill-pine-qa/

 

[gst]

http://freerangereport.com/index.ph...-reduction-policies-needed-to-stem-wildfires/

[FONT=newsmag !important] Environment,Federal Mismanagement,Natural Resources | [FONT=newsmag !important][/FONT] September 11, 2017

Across the country, particularly in the west, national forests have millions of dead and dying trees. Growth and mortality rates far outpace fuels reduction and timber harvesting. Forests have become unnaturally dense and overgrown, and insect epidemics have laid waste to entire landscapes. Unsustainable fuel loads are resulting in larger wildfires, which helps explain why more than half of the Forest Service’s budget is now dedicated to wildfire suppresThe Hill​

As Congress returns from its August recess, it’s time for the federal government to turn its attention to reforming forest management policies. Catastrophic wildfires are affecting millions of Americans living near our dying national forests, where wildfires are resulting in tragic losses, threatening communities and polluting our air with toxic smoke. The disastrous 2017 wildfire season has already burned 7 million acres, and may yet surpass the record-breaking 2015 season that burned over 10.1 million acres.
Some believe the solution to our wildfire crisis is to end practice of “fire borrowing,” a situation where the U.S. Forest Service is forced to raid non-fire accounts when its suppression budget is exhausted. It is true this practice should be stopped because it has an enormously disruptive effect on the agency and its ability to manage public lands.
But in recent years Congress has increased funding for wildfire suppression and hazardous fuels reduction programs. Money alone will not enable federal agencies to treat the 60 to 80 million acres of public lands that are at immediate risk of catastrophic wildfire, insects and disease. We need changes in policy.

Across the country, particularly in the west, national forests have millions of dead and dying trees. Growth and mortality rates far outpace fuels reduction and timber harvesting. Forests have become unnaturally dense and overgrown, and insect epidemics have laid waste to entire landscapes. Unsustainable fuel loads are resulting in larger wildfires, which helps explain why more than half of the Forest Service’s budget is now dedicated to wildfire suppression.

​

There’s plenty of science that shows fuel reduction helps reduce the size and severity of fires. That’s why Congress must reduce the cost and time needed to develop and implement forest projects that reduce fuel loads and help adapt our landscapes to the impacts of climate change and drought. Congress must also place reasonable limits on activist lawsuits that obstruct efforts to improve forest health, reduce the risks of catastrophic wildfires and enhance and protect wildlife habitat for vulnerable species.
Legislation such as the bipartisan Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017shows that it’s possible to expedite projects under existing federal environmental laws, while promoting collaboration among diverse stakeholders and resolving disputes without costly litigation. Congress should pass this legislation without delay.
Current forest management policies are arbitrary, outdated and unresponsive to changing conditions on the ground. Oregon’s Chetco Bar Fire, currently the nation’s highest fire-fighting priority, is a perfect example. The fire started July 12 when lightning struck a snag and began burning — the same area scarred by the 1987 Silver Fire and 2002 Biscuit Fire in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, a congressionally designated wilderness area where forest management activities such as mechanized thinning are strictly prohibited.
The Forest Service could have quickly attacked the small fire but let it burn for over a month. Then the winds picked up and it exploded by 38,000 acres in a matter of days. Today the fire has grown to over 128,000 acres, ravaging Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management forest lands, destroying homes and prompting evacuations in the community of Brookings. The Chetco Bar is a catastrophe not because the Forest Service lacked funding. Rather it’s because federal agencies were unable or unwilling to treat dense, kindle-dry forests — and then seemingly stood by as the fire burned unchecked.
The Chetco Bar Fire is an example of the limits of the “let-it-burn” philosophy that has come to influence federal land management, and how arbitrary land “protections” can easily become counterproductive. It also shows that federal spending alone won’t stop the spread of catastrophic wildfires. New policies are needed to promote science-based, active forest management that is desperately needed on federal lands to protect our forests and communities.
Nick Smith is the executive director of Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities, a non-profit, non-partisan grassroots coalition that advocates for active management of America’s federally owned forests.

sion.​

[/FONT]

 

[deleted member]

You could build, heat or power a lot of homes with 7 million acres of wood.

 

[gst]

Don;t forget the 10.1 million acres in 2015..............

 

[gst]

Ya there can't be much for fires burning out west and up north.......................how many years have we seen this now?

http://wildfiretoday.com/tag/smoke/

Above: The map shows the distribution of smoke from wildfires at 3:54 p.m. MDT September 10, 2017.

 

[Allen]

Hopefully the weather this weekend will help put the damper on all that frigging smoke.

It'd be nice to get back to just the stuff coming out of the coal plants!

 

[gst]

What we tend to forget when we whine about smoke is what is causing it and why and the realities others face because of it. People that demand these wilderness designations that the environs have prostituted and support those environmental groups lawsuits with their silence or worse false claims and accusations need to step up an own their responsibility in the actual impacts that occur.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/st...eaten-move-east-onto-private-lands/659351001/

http://medicinehatnews.com/news/loc...als-badly-burned-in-grass-fire-near-bindloss/

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/st...oy-homes-rage-across-rural-montana/103954198/

- - - Updated - - -

We will see how many tax payer dollars are used to sue the govt over the new direction and change of policy mentioned in this link.

We will also see how many people will support that change with their silence or stand up and speak out on these "greedy" orgs as they sue to keep the status quo.

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-zinke-directs-interior-bureaus-take-aggressive-action-prevent-wildfires

 

[fnznfwl]

My uncle spent most of one winter digging thru Menards lumber to find enough to build his kitchen cabinets with. They are pretty damn nice. The guys at Menards ...not so much when he showed up. they finally just left him alone.

LOL!! He could have went to nearly any reputable lumber yard and ordered blue pine instead of trying to "save big money" and being the asshat who pillages through the lumber piles every week.

 

[Kurtr]

LOL!! He could have went to nearly any reputable lumber yard and ordered blue pine instead of trying to "save big money" and being the asshat who pillages through the lumber piles every week.

dont know how it is possible but there is a shortage of it now in the hills any ways as there is some kind of hold up on letting them cut beetle kill pine trees

 

[Rowdie]

My father in law did his whole trophy room with it. Got it from a mill in the hills but they only have a run so often due to "regulations" of cutting down dead beetle killed timber. My wife wants it on the wall in the family room of the basement when we start to finish that. I am about carpentered out

LOL it never ends...just go fishing more

 

[gst]

LOL!! He could have went to nearly any reputable lumber yard and ordered blue pine instead of trying to "save big money" and being the asshat who pillages through the lumber piles every week.

This was about 20 years ago when Menards first opened so maybe that option wasn;t there then. Maybe he liked sorting thru lumber to make sure he got quality boards. He was a very good craftsman and very particular about his work. Have yet to see custom cabinets done as well any where.

I inherited some of those particular genes and sort thru lumber every where I go. If you want to simply grab boards and go, please take the shitty warped, wet, splintered ones so people like me don;t have to set them aside.

You want to buy horse shit lumber more power to ya.

But hey thanks for being the site "asshat" what ever that is.