Forestry Friday … Loggers To The Rescue

Posted on December 23, 2016 by foresterartist

Skidding salvage logs to the landing in the King Burn.

This article appeared in The Economist and sums up the need and benefit of thinning the forests of the Sierra Nevada. I’ve added a few comments about it below.

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21711930-cutting-often-preferable-burning-greater-cost-can-be-offset-payments

The larval form of bark beetles are what kill the tree. The adult beetle chews a nursery gallery into the tree and lays her eggs. The larva hatch and spread out from that gallery creating more galleries as they feed. During this feeding process the larva girdle the cambium of the tree causing it to die.

I really appreciate the discussion regarding water generation through thinning. I believe this is one of the least discussed benefits of practicing forestry in the West, but in California it’s one of the biggest benefits with our constant water deficits. Thinning the Sierra forests would generate an enormous amount of water for California.

When comparing the cost of controlled burning to mechanized thinning (logging) you can’t ignored the cost incurred when controlled burns get out of control. The cost differences between doing controlled burn and fighting out of control fire is enormous. I’m not saying don’t use controlled burning, but fire suppression costs need to be included when controlled burns get out of control. Controlled burning is one tool available, but cannot come close to solving the problem of all the overstock forests.

Commercial thinning that includes merchantable (larger) trees is the only economically sustainable way to accomplish the massive level of thinning that needs to be done. The author points out 52 trees per acre was the historic density of trees in the Sierra. Research has shown that the proper density for optimal growth in fully stock mature timber stands to be between 43 and 64 trees per acre depending on the size of the trees. If we remove 236 trees per acre to reach 64 trees per acre, then some of those trees have to be big enough to make a 2 x 4. If there is enough value in the larger trees, a timber company will pay the federal government to thin the forest instead of the government paying a contractor to clean up and dispose of the unmerchantable trees.

What’s the upside? We get healthy resilient forests that are more fire resistant. Wildfires that do start are less severe, and safer and easier to control. There is more water available to the state. The wood isn’t left to rot. It is used in wood products and to generate electricity. People doing these forest related jobs see an economic benefit, particularly in the rural communities. The practice is sustainable and wood is our great renewable resource.

Lastly, some folks are going to fret over the impacts of logging at that scale. I want you to know this, timber harvests are studiously planned to mitigate the potential negative impacts they could cause. Secondly, just imagine the negative effects of these mega-fires. I’ve seen them and their effects are staggering. I’ve yet to see one large burn ever have it’s negative impacts fully mitigated.

Forestry Friday … Bug Kill!

Posted on May 30, 2014 by foresterartist

“Bug kill” or “beetle kill” are the terms we use for insect killed trees. Bark beetles kill more trees in our forest than any other insects. They are always present in the forest. At low population levels, the dead trees or snags they create are left for wildlife. When beetle populations spike up, we salvage most of the dead trees.

We salvage dead and dying trees to capture their value while the wood is still sound. Red or fading tops signal the problem areas.

This pitch tube is the entry point where the beetle first bored into the tree. If the pitch tube is amber in color, the tree successfully fended off the attack. When the pitch tube is pinkish like this one, the beetles successfully penetrated into the tree.

adult red turpentine beetle, Dendroctonus valens

This is the culprit, a red turpentine beetle, Dendroctonus valens. They bore into the trees to lay eggs. Trees in a weakened state, such as during severe drought, attract these beetles.

Red turpentine beetle, Dendroctonus Valens, bark beetle, Ponderosa pine

The red turpentine beetle adult, Dendroctonus valens, normally attacks the base of the tree. Such a tiny creature can do so much damage.

The larva of bark beetles are what kill the tree. The adult beetle chews a nursery gallery into the tree to lay her eggs. The larva hatch and spread out from that gallery creating more galleries as they feed. During this feeding process the larva girdle the cambium of the tree causing it to die.

The top of this Ponderosa pine is dead. This in an indication of a different beetle, Ips sp. Location of the attack on the tree can be a diagnostic tool for identification of the insect attacker. There a many species of bark beetles that attack trees.

I’ve been asked over the years what can be done to protect the trees from these beetles. The answer is very little. Keeping your trees thinned out reduces competitive stress between the trees. Reducing stress on the trees is the only effective way to reduce attack by the beetles. However, in years when the beetle populations peak, they will even attack healthy trees. Once you see evidence of beetle attack, it is already too late. Salvaging the dead and dying trees is all that can be done. You have to “log the problem away.”

The Concrete Jungle

Posted on September 6, 2012 by foresterartist

San Francisco

I was in the concrete jungle of San Francisco today. It was a cool gray day with lots and lots of folks. I looked at the dense pack living conditions of the big city and I missed all the space I have in my normal life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I understand a lot of people love living in the city. Different strokes for different folks and all of that. However, a trip to SF makes me appreciate my daily contact with nature. At my home and at my work. It is a blessing to be sure. It seems to me that the people in the big cities must feel disconnected from nature in a way that makes a person want to protect, treasure and guard it. I think that experiencing it in this way doesn’t leave many people with a true understanding of nature. At a very basic level I wish that everyone had to go out hunt, kill, clean, cook and eat an animal. Honestly I believe people would have a greater appreciation of their daily sustenance.

Mandrill at the San Francisco Zoo.

In my firefighter days, many years ago, I worked with a fellow from SF. He had never left the city before to spend any meaningful time in a rural environment. He was a very capable guy and after we left our fire training camp I was stationed in Redding and he in Ogo. Ogo was a fire station West of Redding and was well known for it’s great population of rattlesnakes. A few days later, both our crews responded to the same fire. He seemed a little tired, but otherwise in good spirits. About two weeks later the Redding crew was on a fire with the Ogo crew again, but I didn’t see my friend. I ask about him. His other crew members told me he hadn’t been sleeping well because it was too quiet at night, but when the coyotes would howl in the middle of the night he would fly out of bed in a panic. After about ten days he couldn’t take it anymore. He packed up and went home. I never saw him again and the old Ogo Fire Station is long gone. He never took the time to get comfortable in that setting. It was sad, but maybe I would have trouble making the same adjustment to living in the city.

I saw this log truck rolling through the Bay Area. Just a little reminder of where wood comes from.

I wish folks from the cities in California trusted our land managers more. The people I work with love nature as much as anyone and take great pride in the job they do. Instead, in a time when the science and technology have reached a point that we can accomplish amazing things in the woods, politically we are forced to do a more and more mediocre job by trying to create conditions where no one can make a mistake.

Unfortunately, the desire protect the natural environment by stopping land management is resulting in loving our forest to death. Death by uncontrollable fires and bark beetle epidemics. People need to view land management as a tool to improve our forests where people are part of this ecosystem and not as an obstacle to a healthy forest.