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Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Wayne Mayo, Brian Stout, Former President Trump, Henry Heimuller, Joe Biden, Jerry Falwell Jr., Mike Johnson, Ted Cruz, Joe Biden’s dogs, or Claudia Eagle’s Cats. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Bill’s Standard Disclaimer
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Preservation of Older Forests
The Biden administration is moving to conserve groves of old-growth trees on federal land by revising management plans for national forests and grasslands across the U.S. as climate change intensifies the threats they face from wildfires, insects and disease. Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack said the goal was to provide a naturally driven approach to older forests where logging interests have historically prevailed. It would be the first nationwide amendment to U.S. Forest Service management plans in the agency’s 118-year history. Its time for an update as things change. To preserve older forests that offer crucial wildlife habitat and other environmental benefits. The timber industry has fought against logging restrictions on government-owned lands. President Biden's administration appears to be aiming for a middle ground: It would sharply limit commercial timber harvests in old growth forests while allowing logging to continue on “mature forests” that have not yet reached old growth stage. Old growth forests, such as the storied giant sequoia stands of northern California, have layer upon layer of undisturbed trees and vegetation. There’s wide consensus on the importance of preserving the oldest and largest trees — both symbolically as marvels of nature, and more practically because their trunks and branches store large amounts of carbon that can be released when forests burn, adding to climate change. Underlining the urgency of the issue are wildfires in California that killed thousands of giant sequoias in recent years. The towering giants are concentrated in about 70 groves scattered along the western side of the Sierra Nevada range. This is the first time the Forest Service has said it’s national policy will be to protect old growth.” Yet experts say there’s no simple formula to determine what’s old. But still it’s a step in the right direction. We cannot log everything we come to its important to save stands of these trees not only for environmental reasons but for the ability of people to see these huge trees. Growth rates among different tree types vary greatly and even within species, depending on their access to water and sunlight and soil conditions. Groves of aspen can mature within a half century. For Douglas fir stands, it could take 100 years. Wildfire frequency also factors in: Ponderosa pine forests are adapted to withstand blazes as often as once a decade, compared to lodgepole pine stands that might burn every few hundred years. The Forest Service and federal Bureau of Land Management combined oversee more than 50,000 square miles of old growth forests and about 125,000 square miles) of mature forests, according to the inventory. Most are in Western states such as Idaho, California, Montana and Oregon. They’re also in New England, around the Great Lakes and in Southern states such as Arkansas, Kentucky and West Virginia, according to the Forest Service. But representatives of the timber industry and some members of Congress have been skeptical about Biden’s ambitions to protect older forests, which the Democrat launched in 2021 on Earth Day. They’ve urged the administration to instead concentrate on lessening wildfire dangers by thinning stands of trees where decades of fire suppression have allowed undergrowth to flourish, which can be a recipe for disaster when fires ignite. with the Federal Forest Resource Coalition, a timber industry group. “Is that the correct emphasis right now when most of the old growth losses are coming from insects, fire and climate change stressors working together they claim. The proposal to revise management plans for 128 national forests and national grasslands is expected to be completed by early 2025. However, it's uncertain if the change would survive if Biden loses his 2024 re-election bid. I think Biden is trying to do the right thing, and I think the republicans will do anything to reverse Biden’s policies whether it is good or not, just because. I think it is important to keep vast forests as nature decides. Many areas cannot be logged because of the terrain, many fires are started not by nature but because of accidental or deliberately started by humans. But I also think its important to log areas that needs logged, we have millions of acres of timber land which we can log, manage, grow, harvest and plant trees for the next 50 years for harvest. If we manage forests their needs to be no reason to cut every tree down, and we can maintain old growth forests which can be as nature decided. People depend on trees for almost everything we use from homes, to household furniture, construction items. I think we are smart enough to see the difference between greed and need. The only issue is-- will us humans do what is right? I know the democrats will do what is right but even some of the democrats go over board. While most republicans want to log all they see and then some. Why is it we just cant be smart about things and be moderate? On greed and consumption. Wishing you a Happy New Year! May it be filled with joy, compassion and goodwill.
Tammy
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