This was posted on a friend's face book page. She & her husband are independent loggers and active in the industry's politics. Author of the article is Bill Imbergamo.
As these fires burn in California and Oregon (and elsewhere, but boy, these two states are putting on a show right now), I thought I'd share some information about the conditions on California's National Forests provided by one of my board members, mostly based on Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis and research done by FS researchers. Caveats: Not all the fires burning are FOREST fires, some of them are brush, grass, and chaparral, all highly flammable landscapes that are a whole other issue when it comes to land management. But the fact is the Forest Service grounds in CA are badly overstocked, the result of over a century of fire suppression and several decades of little management. This isn't about "raking" (ahem), nor is it only about climate change (although there is no doubt that climate change is playing a significant role here). Anyway, it's background knowledge like this that led me to pen that op-ed I shared yesterday. So now you can know what I know:
National Forests in California Forest Service Inventory & Analysis (FIA): In 2010 – average of 295 live trees/acre and 17 dead trees/acre for a total of 302 conifer trees/acre; 2015 data shows 302 live conifer trees/acre and 18 conifer dead trees/acre for a total of 320 conifer trees/acre.
Very recently, Dr. Malcolm North, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, found that in the 1860's, California's forests had on average 64 trees/acre; average diameter of 26 inches; 32% canopy cover, while in the 2010’s – on average, there are 320 trees/acre; average diameter of 14” inches, and; 65% canopy cover (“Creating a Resilient Landscape Using Recent Research on Reference Conditions. Reforestation, and Owl Habitat” (February 2020).
In other words, on average, National Forest acres have 5 times the number of trees they have historically supported, these trees are 46 percent smaller, and the canopy (where the tops of trees touch) is twice as dense as it was historically. You subject a forest in that condition to climate change, this week's fire weather, and years of on again, off again drought, and you've got a real problem.
"We have a Forest Health problem. There simply is not sufficient water throughout any given year to sustain tree density on average 5 times greater than historic stands that were resistant to wildfire, insect, and disease."
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As these fires burn in California and Oregon (and elsewhere, but boy, these two states are putting on a show right now), I thought I'd share some information about the conditions on California's National Forests provided by one of my board members, mostly based on Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis and research done by FS researchers. Caveats: Not all the fires burning are FOREST fires, some of them are brush, grass, and chaparral, all highly flammable landscapes that are a whole other issue when it comes to land management. But the fact is the Forest Service grounds in CA are badly overstocked, the result of over a century of fire suppression and several decades of little management. This isn't about "raking" (ahem), nor is it only about climate change (although there is no doubt that climate change is playing a significant role here). Anyway, it's background knowledge like this that led me to pen that op-ed I shared yesterday. So now you can know what I know:
National Forests in California Forest Service Inventory & Analysis (FIA): In 2010 – average of 295 live trees/acre and 17 dead trees/acre for a total of 302 conifer trees/acre; 2015 data shows 302 live conifer trees/acre and 18 conifer dead trees/acre for a total of 320 conifer trees/acre.
Very recently, Dr. Malcolm North, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, found that in the 1860's, California's forests had on average 64 trees/acre; average diameter of 26 inches; 32% canopy cover, while in the 2010’s – on average, there are 320 trees/acre; average diameter of 14” inches, and; 65% canopy cover (“Creating a Resilient Landscape Using Recent Research on Reference Conditions. Reforestation, and Owl Habitat” (February 2020).
In other words, on average, National Forest acres have 5 times the number of trees they have historically supported, these trees are 46 percent smaller, and the canopy (where the tops of trees touch) is twice as dense as it was historically. You subject a forest in that condition to climate change, this week's fire weather, and years of on again, off again drought, and you've got a real problem.
"We have a Forest Health problem. There simply is not sufficient water throughout any given year to sustain tree density on average 5 times greater than historic stands that were resistant to wildfire, insect, and disease."
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