By now, most folks are used to the competition Tim (The Forester Artist) and I have with our original art donation to the Sierra-Cascade Environmental and Resource Fund annual education auction hosted by the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference. Up until last year, Tim kept coming out on top, but then I smoked him when my […]
https://www.zmescience.com/science/northern-forest-britain-09423432/
I found this to be an interesting story on plans to reestablish forests in Northern Britain. It’s a noble goal to be sure. The goal is to plant 62,000 acres back to forest with 50,000,000 trees. The cost is expected to be $690 million. That’s where I start to cringe.
When comparing projects done in California by private timber companies doing wildfire restoration I think it could be done better in Britain. We would use about 20,000,000 trees to do the same size area. With soil site preparation, tree planting and initial herbicide treatment to control the weeds for a year or two, our reforestation cost would be about $25,000,000 for 62,000 acres. Now, if they were to plant the trees in Britain at a 12’x12’ spacing like we would here, they could cover 165,000 acres. Our costs here would be approximately $65,000,000. Plus, planting the trees as close together as they propose, about 7’x7’ will require the trees be thinned within a few short years at substantial expense. Otherwise, the trees become overly crowded and stressed.
This doesn’t sound like forestry, because it really has a price tag for landscaping. I believe it’s a worthy project, but can be done better. I realize our infrastructure for these types of projects is different and cheaper, but that is still a huge cost difference. I also know that many American foresters outside of California are thinking my cost estimates are too high. That’s California. My suggestion is to draft some good Canadian reforestation foresters to come over and lend a hand.
https://www.zmescience.com/science/northern-forest-britain-09423432/
I was in the Trinities this week and there was thick smoke everywhere. It’s burning season in Northern California. We had quite a lot of rain in late November. I assumed that some agency was doing a large burn project. However, I couldn’t see where the smoke was coming from. It appeared to be drift smoke.
During my drive down from the mountains I heard a news report. They reported that smoke from the Thomas Fire was drifting up the coast. I checked Google Earth that evening and the smoke had drifted nearly 500 miles from the Thomas Fire in Southern California to north of Redding. The residue of so many homes and so much wildland was adrift in this smoke.
The late afternoon sun filtering through the smoke in the Trinities.
Looking north toward Billys Peak across the old dredge tailings along the Trinity River.
Smoke tinted sunlight and trees reflect on an old dredge pond.
I started this post last June, but never finished it. Better late that never. Here are just a few pictures of our birds that make their home at the Mill. It defies conventional wisdom that so much wildlife makes it home at an industrial complex and thrives. It’s all about the habitat.
Wood Ducks.
Osprey
Wild Turkey Hen
Killdeer
Great Blue Heron
Black Pheobe
Cattle Egret
Blackbirds on a pole stack.
I stopped by Hayfork Creek on the way home to let Tasha air out and get a drink. Mary and I used to have a mining claim here, but it didn’t pan out. We’d camp out while we prospected for gold. On this visit, fall color gilded the landscape.
I only found gold in the leaves this time.
Look more gold! Tasha enjoyed the water.
Douglas-fir timber.
Drifting away.
Wood ducks hanging out in the canal behind the sawmill. Something a little more serene than the Halloween post.
Logging Crew Firefighters.
This story appeared on KREM2 in Spokane. I’m heartened to see a support for an active strategy to deal with the wildfire dilemma. In defiance of popular conventional wisdom that harvesting trees is a bad thing. Finally, using harvesting as a tool for healthier forests. It too long overdue in the minds of the public.
http://www.krem.com/news/local/2-on-your-side/logging-could-it-actually-save-our-forests/484608831
Mary and I took a trip to Alaska last spring to spend time with family. While traveling from Fairbanks to the coast we took an afternoon to visit Denali National Park. It was the pre-season and the tour buses weren’t running yet. Therefore, we were able to drive 30 miles into the park. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and we weren’t to see the mountain. On the positive side we were able to stop anytime we wanted to take pictures. In fact, our little group did so well spotting wildlife that we soon had a caravan of vehicles pulling off the road behind us so they could see the wildlife we found. The gallery below is just a few of the wonderful sights we enjoyed. Just click on the photos to enlarge them.
This was our first trip to Alaska, but won’t be our last. We had a terrific time. We were there for a week. These shots were just from one afternoon. Stay tuned for more pictures from Alaska.
I’m showing off some of our Northern California fall colors. I know you folks back east are thinking “I don’t see the color!” We make do with what we have.
THE FORESTER ARTIST 