Latest news with #forestmanagement
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Vancouver Islanders call for better access and environmental oversight of private forest lands
A survey by a private forest management company on Vancouver Island shows thousands of outdoor enthusiasts want better access to forest land — but an alliance of wilderness advocates is also raising concerns about environmental accountability. Mosaic Forest Management, which oversees roughly 550,000 hectares of privately owned forest land between Victoria, Sooke and Campbell River, reports that the survey received over 7,600 responses and the feedback was clear: open the gates. According to Mosaic's website, the company has over 20 gates on the Island that it can open and close to control recreational use — including those controlling access to popular hikes like Century Sam in Comox and Mount Arrowsmith near Port Alberni, and front-country camping sites like Nanaimo Lakes. Access to the areas is often limited to weekends between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Steve Mjaaland, Mosaic's manager of forest protection, says the company would like to enhance recreational access, but gate closures are often necessary for safety and to prevent wildfires. "It's a working forest. There are a lot of high-risk hazards, especially hauling on the roads, which would probably be the biggest risk with traffic," he said. Among those calling for better access: Jenn Holland, who currently chairs an alliance of almost 30 grassroots groups on the Island called the Vancouver Island Private Managed Forest Land Action Alliance. "There's gates everywhere and people can't get to beloved waterfalls or lakes or camping sites that they used to be able to access," she said. Holland says the issue goes beyond recreation. "We can't get in there, and we can't see what they're doing back there. We can't see if there's been a landslide. We can't see if a water course has been logged. We can't see that they've logged an entire watershed," she said. "It's not just access for recreation, but it's access for accountability that's missing." WATCH | Hikers call for greater access to the Island's backcountry: Issue goes beyond the gates, say conservationists Holland says that while hiking access is something that the public can easily grasp, she's focused on bigger issues, like conservation, private forest landowners and the province, that go beyond Mosaic's control of the gates. Dave Weaver, a retired forestry worker who now volunteers with the Beaufort Watershed Stewards, one of the groups that make up the Vancouver Island Private Managed Forest Land Action Alliance, says he takes issue with the Private Managed Forest Land Program, which was established in 2003 under the Private Managed Forest Land Act. According to the province's website, the program works by setting out management objectives for forest landowners, who in turn develop management strategies most appropriate for their land. Weaver says the act sets a low bar for forestry practices, especially in comparison to regulations for public forest lands, which have more restrictions on harvesting and clearcuts, and greater requirements for public accountability. "We need to have these difficult conversations very soon, with all the parties involved — with the provincial government, with the landowners," he said. WATCH: Vancouver Island groups call for forestry reform on private land: In 2019, the province undertook a review of the Private Managed Forest Land Act, where Weaver says extensive feedback was collected from the public, local government and First Nations. The province published its findings, which show there was a recurring theme of concern about the sustainability of forestry practices and the effects on things like watersheds on privately managed forest land — but Weaver claims no tangible change ever came from the review. In an emailed statement, the Ministry of Forests said it's working to modernize the act following the 2019 review, and that "many of the issues raised during the review are being addressed through the government's work to make sure forestry supports ecosystem values." But Weaver says he believes even that review would be out of date by today's standards and is joined by the alliance in calling on the province to undertake a new review. In a statement, Mosaic said it would be willing to work with community partners toward a sustainable strategy. "Mosaic supports enhanced collaboration between private forest landowners, First Nations, the Province, and communities to ensure responsible forest management plays a key role in BC's economic, reconciliation and climate strategies," said Karen Brandt, the senior vice president of public affairs and partnerships at Mosaic Forest Management.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Forest road rule in New Mexico faces potential change
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) — The feds are working to peel back a rule barring new roads from being paved through federal forests, and now, many are wondering what it could mean for two million acres in New Mexico. For decades, the federal 'Roadless Rule' has blocked new road building across New Mexico's untouched back country, but it may soon be a thing of the past. Story continues below News: New Mexico Supreme Court throws out embezzlement charges against former official Trending: A 'professional courtesy': How an officer crossed the line Community: Funding for farming internship program at APS in jeopardy KRQE Investigates: Embattled McKinley County DA asks for emergency funding to keep her office running 'We're going to go back to common sense forest management to ensure that our forests are here for generations to come,' said US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who states that the choice will in part help with wildfire prevention. But conservation groups, such as the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance are skeptical of the Trump Administration's choice. They fear what it could mean for some of the state's forest land. 'Lands the New Mexicans know and love would be at risk because of this rollback,' said NM Wilderness Alliance Executive Director Mark Allison. 'Which was intended to open up these places for industrial activity and development like commercial logging, mining, and oil and gas development.' Other concerns include the impact on outdoor recreation areas, habitat, and sacred tribal lands, as well as the potential of poaching endangered species like the Mexican Grey Wolf. But some New Mexico lawmakers are in favor of the rule change. Silver City Republican Senator Gabriel Ramos says it may help protect communities from wildfire, floods and property damage. 'If you look at every forest fire out here in the Gila, they've used dozers and they've actually cut lines,' said Ramos. 'And if they already had a road there, it would be a lot easier for them to go ahead and cut that line and try and stop the fire from growing.' NM Wilderness Alliance thinks what's being floated as a solution to the wildfires could actually cause more, citing studies showing most fires are human-caused and 90% occur within half-a-mile of a road. 'When you have more roads, you have more people, which means you have more human-caused fires,' said Allison. Near the Carson National Forest, Taos Democratic Senator Bobby Gonzales says there needs to be a balanced approach. 'I know that harvesting timber is important,' said Gonzales. 'But it has to be done that it meets the needs of everyone… Now, just to come in with wide open – developing roads- that does a lot of harm to the land and to restore it back is not that easy.' The US Forest Service still has to go through a long process before repealing the Roadless Rule, which is expected to include public comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
7 days ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Grand Canyon blaze shows how managing a fire can go suddenly sideways
U.S. land managers are racing the clock as hotter, drier weather raises the risk of wildfires in the nation's overgrown forests with each passing year. One tool is to use the flames from lightning-sparked wildfires when conditions allow or to plan prescribed fires for other times of the year to clear out dense vegetation as a way to limit future risks. Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona for decades has been a leader at using fire to make the ecosystem more resilient. A lightning-sparked fire along the North Rim that started July 4 presented an opportunity for fire to play its natural role. After a week conditions quickly deteriorated. Wind-whipped flames rushed toward the iconic Grand Canyon Lodge and the surrounding historic cabins. Many were reduced to rubble and ash. It's not the first time firefighters have been on the losing end of trying to wrangle the forces of nature. Still, experts say fire is a critical land management tool, pointing to countless examples where the work has paid off. 'We focus so much on the fires that go bad and almost nothing on the 99% plus that do great work,' said Scott Stephens, a professor of fire science and forest policy at the University of California, Berkeley. 'Unless we get the forests in a more resilient condition with low fire hazards, we will be chasing our tails forever.' Searching for new tools On the North Rim, managers working the Dragon Bravo Fire say crews had constructed containment lines and were prepared for more defensive maneuvers before conditions rapidly changed. Uncharacteristically strong winds pushed the flames past multiple containment lines, prompting mandatory evacuations for remaining North Rim residents. Crews in New Mexico also were forced to change their strategy in battling a blaze burning in the Santa Fe National Forest after a spot fire was discovered beyond containment lines. Ranchers there shared pictures of dead cattle on charred grazing allotments, criticizing officials for not putting out the flames sooner. Experts agree there's always room for improvement when it comes to managing wildfires and planning for prescribed fires, especially as technology improves to help fire managers predict what the flames might do. University of Utah atmospheric scientist Derek Mallia is among those working on new forecasting tools. He's tracking fires in Utah and Arizona in preparation for a project next year that will focus on pyrocumulonimbus clouds, or those towering thunderstorms that sometimes form above wildfires. Mallia said fire forecasting hasn't advanced as quickly as tools for other severe events like tornados and hurricanes. That's partly because fires happen on a finer scale, making the work more difficult. Managers also have to account for the legacy of built-up fuels in the forests and the compounding factor of climate change, he said. For example, he said fires are burning hotter at night than they used to. 'That used to be a time of the day where there was a good opportunity to kind of jump on a fire, get it contained and make a lot of meaningful progress,' he said. 'That's a lot more difficult now.' Researchers also are trying to better understand how fires affect weather patterns. Mallia explained that fires are part of a more complex feedback loop that makes forecasting even more challenging. Still, the biggest issue is the condition of the forests and their susceptibility to high severity wildfire, said Stephens, the California professor. Andi Thode, a professor of fire ecology and management at Northern Arizona University and the lead at the Southwest Fire Science Consortium, agreed. She said using a lightning-sparked fire or taking years to plan a prescribe burn is a matter of deferred risk for fire managers. 'Do you want to take your risk now with a lightning ignition that seems to be functioning in the way that you want it to with weather predictions that are not too bad? Or do you want to push that risk back to later in the worst time of the year?' she said. 'Fire managers are always juggling this now.' Lessons already learned For Native Americans, fire has long been a part of life and crucial for forest health. Westward settlement all but eradicated those attitudes until ecologists ignited a shift in the way policymakers thought about fire. The first wilderness fire management program was established in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks more than a half-century ago, as policies shifted from suppression to management. Other parks followed, with thousands of lightning-sparked fires being allowed to burn under carefully monitored conditions in dozens of parks across the U.S. But there have been costly lessons, including at Bandelier National Monument in northern New Mexico, where a prescribed fire was set in the spring of 2000 to treat 2 square miles (5.18 square kilometers) of dense forest. Strong winds, dry conditions and insufficient resources contributed to the destruction of homes as the fire ballooned to nearly 75 square miles (194.25 square kilometers). Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the nations' premier nuclear weapons labs and the birthplace of the atomic bomb, also closed. The Cerro Grande Fire forever changed the landscape around Los Alamos, prompted congressional inquiries, led to a host of recommendations from nonpartisan government watchdogs and formed the basis of new training programs. Changing conditions It's not that the lessons faded from memory, but the circumstances are more dire with a drier landscape across much of the U.S. West. That was the case in 2022, when the U.S. Forest Service forged ahead with a pair of prescribed burning operations in New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains as pressure mounted to address the wildfire threat. Outdated models and miscalculations by managers resulted in what was the largest blaze in New Mexico's recorded history. Rural communities were uprooted and the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire wasn't contained for four months. During the conflagration, the Forest Service put on hold its prescribed fire program and conducted a lengthy review that resulted in numerous reforms. Congress approved billions in recovery dollars, with FEMA paying out about $2.6 billion so far. A 2024 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office noted 43 prescribed fire projects between 2012 and 2021 out of 50,000 prescribed fire projects. That included blazes in national forests in more than a dozen states — from the California-Nevada border to Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, North Carolina and Arkansas. The Forest Service alone ignites about 4,500 prescribed fires each year, with the agency saying most are successful. But support wavers each time a fire escapes, like in New Mexico and now with the lightning-sparked fire at the Grand Canyon. Thode said fire managers weigh many variables when making decisions — from wind speed and topography to the dryness of the fuels and moisture deficits within the atmosphere. 'There's a lot of science that goes behind what the folks are doing on the ground to manage these ecosystems,' she said.
Associated Press
7 days ago
- Climate
- Associated Press
Grand Canyon blaze shows how managing a fire can go suddenly sideways
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. land managers are racing the clock as hotter, drier weather raises the risk of wildfires in the nation's overgrown forests with each passing year. One tool is to use the flames from lightning-sparked wildfires when conditions allow or to plan prescribed fires for other times of the year to clear out dense vegetation as a way to limit future risks. Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona for decades has been a leader at using fire to make the ecosystem more resilient. A lightning-sparked fire along the North Rim that started July 4 presented an opportunity for fire to play its natural role. After a week conditions quickly deteriorated. Wind-whipped flames rushed toward the iconic Grand Canyon Lodge and the surrounding historic cabins. Many were reduced to rubble and ash. It's not the first time firefighters have been on the losing end of trying to wrangle the forces of nature. Still, experts say fire is a critical land management tool, pointing to countless examples where the work has paid off. 'We focus so much on the fires that go bad and almost nothing on the 99% plus that do great work,' said Scott Stephens, a professor of fire science and forest policy at the University of California, Berkeley. 'Unless we get the forests in a more resilient condition with low fire hazards, we will be chasing our tails forever.' Searching for new tools On the North Rim, managers working the Dragon Bravo Fire say crews had constructed containment lines and were prepared for more defensive maneuvers before conditions rapidly changed. Uncharacteristically strong winds pushed the flames past multiple containment lines, prompting mandatory evacuations for remaining North Rim residents. Crews in New Mexico also were forced to change their strategy in battling a blaze burning in the Santa Fe National Forest after a spot fire was discovered beyond containment lines. Ranchers there shared pictures of dead cattle on charred grazing allotments, criticizing officials for not putting out the flames sooner. Experts agree there's always room for improvement when it comes to managing wildfires and planning for prescribed fires, especially as technology improves to help fire managers predict what the flames might do. University of Utah atmospheric scientist Derek Mallia is among those working on new forecasting tools. He's tracking fires in Utah and Arizona in preparation for a project next year that will focus on pyrocumulonimbus clouds, or those towering thunderstorms that sometimes form above wildfires. Mallia said fire forecasting hasn't advanced as quickly as tools for other severe events like tornados and hurricanes. That's partly because fires happen on a finer scale, making the work more difficult. Managers also have to account for the legacy of built-up fuels in the forests and the compounding factor of climate change, he said. For example, he said fires are burning hotter at night than they used to. 'That used to be a time of the day where there was a good opportunity to kind of jump on a fire, get it contained and make a lot of meaningful progress,' he said. 'That's a lot more difficult now.' Researchers also are trying to better understand how fires affect weather patterns. Mallia explained that fires are part of a more complex feedback loop that makes forecasting even more challenging. Still, the biggest issue is the condition of the forests and their susceptibility to high severity wildfire, said Stephens, the California professor. Andi Thode, a professor of fire ecology and management at Northern Arizona University and the lead at the Southwest Fire Science Consortium, agreed. She said using a lightning-sparked fire or taking years to plan a prescribe burn is a matter of deferred risk for fire managers. 'Do you want to take your risk now with a lightning ignition that seems to be functioning in the way that you want it to with weather predictions that are not too bad? Or do you want to push that risk back to later in the worst time of the year?' she said. 'Fire managers are always juggling this now.' Lessons already learned For Native Americans, fire has long been a part of life and crucial for forest health. Westward settlement all but eradicated those attitudes until ecologists ignited a shift in the way policymakers thought about fire. The first wilderness fire management program was established in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks more than a half-century ago, as policies shifted from suppression to management. Other parks followed, with thousands of lightning-sparked fires being allowed to burn under carefully monitored conditions in dozens of parks across the U.S. But there have been costly lessons, including at Bandelier National Monument in northern New Mexico, where a prescribed fire was set in the spring of 2000 to treat 2 square miles (5.18 square kilometers) of dense forest. Strong winds, dry conditions and insufficient resources contributed to the destruction of homes as the fire ballooned to nearly 75 square miles (194.25 square kilometers). Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the nations' premier nuclear weapons labs and the birthplace of the atomic bomb, also closed. The Cerro Grande Fire forever changed the landscape around Los Alamos, prompted congressional inquiries, led to a host of recommendations from nonpartisan government watchdogs and formed the basis of new training programs. Changing conditions It's not that the lessons faded from memory, but the circumstances are more dire with a drier landscape across much of the U.S. West. That was the case in 2022, when the U.S. Forest Service forged ahead with a pair of prescribed burning operations in New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains as pressure mounted to address the wildfire threat. Outdated models and miscalculations by managers resulted in what was the largest blaze in New Mexico's recorded history. Rural communities were uprooted and the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire wasn't contained for four months. During the conflagration, the Forest Service put on hold its prescribed fire program and conducted a lengthy review that resulted in numerous reforms. Congress approved billions in recovery dollars, with FEMA paying out about $2.6 billion so far. A 2024 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office noted 43 prescribed fire projects between 2012 and 2021 out of 50,000 prescribed fire projects. That included blazes in national forests in more than a dozen states — from the California-Nevada border to Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, North Carolina and Arkansas. The Forest Service alone ignites about 4,500 prescribed fires each year, with the agency saying most are successful. But support wavers each time a fire escapes, like in New Mexico and now with the lightning-sparked fire at the Grand Canyon. Thode said fire managers weigh many variables when making decisions — from wind speed and topography to the dryness of the fuels and moisture deficits within the atmosphere. 'There's a lot of science that goes behind what the folks are doing on the ground to manage these ecosystems,' she said.
National Post
11-07-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew calls out U.S. lawmakers complaining about smoke from Canadian wildfires
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has pushed back against U.S. lawmakers who recently sent a letter to Canada's ambassador complaining that wildfires are sending smoke across the border and making it difficult for Americans to enjoy the summer. Article content The Tuesday letter was signed by six Republican lawmakers from Minnesota and Wisconsin, and questioned Canada's approach to fighting wildfires. In response, Kinew said Thursday that the lawmakers should speak with the American firefighters currently on the ground in Manitoba, instead of making political statements from afar. Article content Article content 'I've shaken the hands of American firefighters in northern Manitoba who are helping us out,' said Kinew. 'I would challenge these ambulance chasers in the U.S. Congress to go and do the same, and to hear how much the American firefighting heroes who are here, how much they love our province.' Article content Article content The letter was sent by representatives Tom Tiffany, Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Glenn Grothman and Pete Stauber of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and addressed to Canada's U.S. ambassador, Kirsten Hillman. Article content In the letter, they outlined that over the last few years, Canadian wildfires have impacted American's quality of life. They argued that a 'lack of active forest management' is a key cause, but arson could also be a contributing factor. The letter went on to say that with all the technology available, 'this worrisome trend can be reversed if proper action is taken.' 'This is what turns people off politics,' Kinew said in response. 'When you've got a group of congresspeople trying to trivialize and make hay out of a wildfire season where we've lost lives in our province. There's no place for that in politics. Article content 'If you can't get likes on Instagram from your own skills as a politician don't bother trying to throw other people under the bus during a state of emergency.' Article content
