They Overcame Mutual Loathing, and Saved a Town
JOHN DAY, Ore. — One of the most venomous battles in our polarized nation is the one that has unfolded between loggers and environmentalists in timber towns like this one in the snow-capped Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon.
Yet, astonishingly, peace has broken out here. Loggers and tree-huggers who once loathed and feared each other have learned to hold their noses and cooperate — and this may have saved the town. It may also offer lessons for a divided country.
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Forest Resiliency in Lake and Klamath Counties
Today our forests in Lake and Klamath Counties are in jeopardy. Insect infestations, overstocked Western juniper, and an altered fire regime have all led to heavy fuel loads. A single lightning strike today has a greater probability of creating a catastrophic wildfire that will burn hotter and more intensely than historical natural fire. Our forests need YOUR HELP to be restored to their once-resilient state and reverse these trends.
Private landowners, along with state and federal entities, must work together across jurisdictional boundaries to effect change on a ...
Finding common ground on active forest management
Environmentalists, working alongside timber industry professionals, helped end the ban on logging trees over 21 inches.
Instead of fighting in the courtroom, with environmental lawsuits halting timber projects, the former adversaries joined together in forest collaboratives to find areas of agreement using science, and the most recent result is the end of an era of prohibition on logging trees larger than 21 inches in diameter — a result the collaboratives believe is mutually beneficial for the environment and the timber industry, and based on the best available ...
Working on timber peace: the Blue Mountains Forest Partners
Hear about our collaborative from Oregon Public Broadcasting's Oregon Field Guide! After the “Timber Wars” left both sides with deep animosity, loggers and environmentalists have done the unthinkable in Eastern Oregon: they've worked together to find common ground—and even become friends. This is the story of the Blue Mountains Forest Partners, one of the most successful forest collaboratives in the Pacific Northwest.
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Forest Restoration in an Era of COVID-19
How has the global pandemic affected forest restoration on the Malheur National Forest? Click on "Read More" to hear from local operators Iron Triangle Logging and Malheur Lumber Company about how they have adjusted to this new challenge.
Of Woodpeckers and Harvests: Finding Compatibility Between Habitat and Salvage Logging
The western United States is home to many woodpecker species that are strongly associated with recently disturbed forests, including post wildfire and post-beetle outbreaks. These types of landscapes are favored habitat because the dead and dying trees provide nesting and foraging substrates. When managing these landscapes, managers must balance providing habitat for woodpeckers considered species of conservation concern with conducting salvage logging sales that generate economic revenue for the surrounding communities. Until recently, managers couldn’t be certain where ...
Landscape Pattern Monitoring Portal Now Active!
The Forest Service, the Southern Blues Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project, and the Blue Mountains Forest Partners worked together to build a web application that would help map and monitor changes in land cover and landscape pattern as a result of management activities and disturbances. One of the most important considerations for this work was that it should be inclusive of all agencies and organizations that collaboratively manage the landscape; as such, the workflow needed to be developed in an accessible location, without the use of proprietary data, ...
Restoration in a Fire Forest: The Benefits of Burning
Wildfire has historically played an important role in the health and structure of Oregon's dry forests. Prescribed fire is a valuable tool used to restore forest health, increase firefighter safety, and better protect nearby human resources in these fire-adapted landscapes. (more…)
To prevent devastating wildfires, old adversaries are finding ways to work together
Nothing is simple when it comes to federal lands management. But in order to thin fire-prone forests — and to break legal and ideological gridlock — national forests in the Pacific Northwest are supporting collaborations with formerly adversarial interests.
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In Oregon, a mysterious tree grove conjures a colder time
Yellow cedars are suited to damp coastal Alaska. So what are they doing in the desert?