Region Archives: United States

350 whitebark pines are growing at the Little Bear Orchard, managed by U.S. Forest Service employees in the Custer Gallatin National Forest. …The Forest Service hosted a tour of the orchard on Monday to teach people about the threatened tree and share details on efforts to restore the keystone species. A combination of blister rust, mountain pine beetle, environmental shifts and changing fire patterns have decimated the whitebark pine across the West. A 2018 study by the Forest Service found that 51% of all standing whitebark pine trees in the United States are dead. The tree was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in December. But sometimes, in an area that’s been decimated by blister rust, there’s one or two trees that appear healthy. Experts believe those lone resistant trees could be the key to restoring the species.

Green Diamond Resource Company, the Seattle-based forest landowner and manager released its first Sustainability Report. The report offers a look into its 2.2 million acres of working forests, natural climate solutions, dedicated employees, and community engagement. …Douglas Reed, President… “Last year, we conducted a sustainability materiality assessment, compiled high-quality metrics and explored the role our timberlands play in addressing a changing climate, all of which align with our guiding principles and long-term goals.” Highlights include: 1.5 million acres managed under federal state fish and wildlife conservation agreements; More than 751,000 acres are in active listed carbon projects. Today, 100% of the land owned and managed by Green Diamond is certified by the voluntary, Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) or Sustainable Forest Initiative® (SFI®) standards.

PORTLAND, Oregon — The Intertribal Timber Council (ITC) announces the fourth independent report on the status of Indian forests and forestry, which found that these forests continue to receive only a fraction of the funding provided to public and private forests. The Indian Forest Management Assessment Team Report (IFMAT) is required by Congress and the White House every 10 years under the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act. “The continuing failure of the United States to meet its fiduciary trust responsibilities for stewardship of these renewable resources is placing Tribal forests in jeopardy with the risk of catastrophic loss from insects, disease, and wildfire,” said Cody Desautel, President of the Intertribal Timber Council. …Tribal forests are part of a national network of forests that provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat, climate change solutions, and rural jobs.

Along with the tourist crowds that are flocking to Denali National Park and Preserve is another arrival: Masses of beetles have burrowed into the park’s spruce trees and begun killing them off.  The aggressive infestation that took hold in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in 2016 has now spread north, covering hillsides in the communities outside the park with rust-red dead trees and reaching into park boundaries.  The ferocity and northward spread of that “epic” Mat-Su infestation surprised Glen Holt, a forester with the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Cooperative Extension Service.  …But while the beetles are considered to play a role in the boreal forest lifecycle, outbreaks in the modern era have been different than those in the past.  …The infestation spreading into the Denali area is of a scope rarely observed that far north in the past, according to park scientists.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sees the Biden administration’s climate agenda as a boon for rural economies, he said Monday during a visit to Portland’s World Forestry Center. The U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, will begin accepting applications for a second round of grants from its Community Wildfire Defense Grant program for at-risk communities to help prepare for wildfires, Vilsack said. That program is part of a wider objective set by President Joe Biden to strengthen the middle class. …But Vilsack emphasized how climate programs can create economic opportunities in rural areas. He highlighted the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities that pays farmers and foresters for reducing carbon emissions and other climate-focused priorities. …Vilsack also promoted using forest byproducts to create building materials like mass timber as a way to both reduce fire risk and enhance economic opportunity.

OREGON — In 2016 the Association of O&C Counties filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management challenging its Resource Management Plans (RMPs) for the O&C lands in Western Oregon. The Bureau’s RMPs violated the statutory mandate of the 1937 O&C Act by withdrawing over 80% of the land base from long term timber production. The O&C Act ended the practice of over harvesting the Federal Forest lands by mandating that “all land classified as timberland shall be managed under the principle of sustained yield.” …In 2019 Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Association of O&C Counties. …In 2021, the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia granted the governments appeal. …The Association of O&C Counties is committed to a final decision by the Supreme Court and is confident it will confirm what Congress clearly intended… under the principle of sustained yield.