Have a safe holiday weekend!

Why is the West burning?

Why is the West burning? Our current drought, and 100 years of active fire suppression? A "let it burn" attitude from environmental organizations? Lawsuits?

How about all of the above! Should we just let it all burn or should we take action?

This organization believes decisive action is needed to reduce fuel loads in our overgrown forest. The natural burn cycle and the western landscape needs our help.

Link to National Geographic photo essay by Mark Thiessen

Call for State Action on National Forests Grows

Schweitzer suggests state of Montana take over management of some federal forests to reduce wildfire danger

Gov. Brian Schweitzer says that creating healthier forests, possibly by having the state take over management of some federal timberland, is the best way to combat the infestation of bark beetles in the West.

Sounds like a good idea to us.

Link to AP article.

Benefit Concert Slated

Ready to ring in the summer season? So are we!

Join us for an evening of down home fun, with Floating Glass Balls, an eclectic bluegrass band from Oregon. The band will be traveling from a performance at the Weiser Fiddle Festival in Idaho and stopping here to put on a show for Bitterroot residents.

Thursday, June 19
Darby Clubhouse, Darby, Montana
Doors open 6 p.m.
Show: 7 p.m.
Tickets: $12 Advance | $15 Door

Advance tickets available at Little Blue Joint in Darby, and the Music Box in Hamilton.

Tell your friends!

Global Warming: Chilling Report from USDA

The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity

Why should we act now to reduce fuel loads in our forest lands? Can we make a difference? We may not be able to stop global warming, but we can must take bold steps to manage our forests better before it is simply too late to do anything.

This isn't the usual global warming fodder, with vague but dire predictions. The USDA report is more frightening because it states the practical changes in farming, forestry and water that are transforming the landscape now and will do so again over the next few decades. Here are a few excerpts:

"Climate change has very likely increased the size and number of forest fires, insect outbreaks, and tree mortality in the interior West, the Southwest, and Alaska, and will continue to do so."

"Rising CO2 will very likely increase photosynthesis for forests, but this increase will likely only enhance wood production in young forests on fertile soils."

"Nitrogen deposition and warmer temperatures have very likely increased forest growth where adequate water is available and will continue to do so in the near future."

Link to USDA report Executive Summary PDF.
Link to full report by sections.

Treehuggers against trees

A brief article with a historical perspective on wildfires in the west. Here are a few paragraphs:

"With wildfires burning, it is useful to turn to the wisdom of the ancients. When the pioneers first entered the great forests of America, they found that the Native Americans had managed the forests for centuries. Their woodlands contained very few big trees—maybe fifty such trees per acre."

"In the 1890s, the average Ponderosa pine stand would have held twenty to sixty trees per acre. A century later, it holds three hundred to nine hundred trees."

"The wildfires we see year after year are in fact the result of well-meaning but foolish policies imposed to the detriment of forests, wildlife and people."

Link to Denver Post article.

Open Solution Thread (Hijacked by Rabid Environmentalist)

Updated post: May 20

Just what will happen to Tom Robak's beautiful dream log home on the West Fork of the Bitterroot River, just below the confluence with Nez Perce Creek? Will he have to tear it down before it's even finished or will he prevail in court? All we can say is stay tuned.

What does this have to do with forest management? Not much other than Tom Robak is the founder of Big Sky Coalition. But one guy named Matthew Koehler, WildWest Institute, makes it part of his business to keep you abreast of anything to do with this organization that might negatively influence how you feel about our organization's agenda.

To make it easy for you to think negatively about us, he's reposted two news articles concerning this issue as comments to this post.

We trust you can make up your own mind.

Meanwhile, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

Spectator or Activist?

Here's your opportunity to change the ongoing forestry dialog for the better. Leave a comment of any length about what you think are the most realistic solutions to mitigating forest overgrowth and fire management issues in the Bitterroot National Forest.

When it comes to the USFS, what policies and practices would you like to see improved, and why?

Regarding the dialog between stakeholders on forest management issues, what would you like to see improved, and why?

Missoula Independent Calls Foul on BSC and Senator Rick Laible

By: Independent Staff
Posted: 05/01/2008

"State Sen. Rick Laible (R-Darby) used his position as chair of the state’s Fire Suppression Interim Committee to pimp his personal agenda April 28—failing to mention a significant conflict of interest until being publicly shamed by a local watchdog."

Link to full article and comments.

Healthy Communities and Forests Symposium Agenda

Big Sky Coalition Public Rally: Kalispell, May 18
Flathead County Fairgrounds

2:00-2:10 Welcome: Flathead Business and Industry Association and Big Sky Coalition
2:10-3:00 Jack Ward Thomas: "The Risks of Doing Nothing to manage Our Forests"
3:05-3:40 Dr. Mark Jergens: "The Health Effects of Breathing Wood Smoke"
3:45-4:15 Wally Bennett: "Fuels and Fire, the Chippy Creek Fire, a Case Study"
4:20-4:50 Bruce Fox: "Forest Service Vegetation Mgt., Past Present & Future"
4:55-5:45 Dave Bunnell: "The Historic Role of Fire in the West"
5:45-6:00 Closing Comments

Members of Big Sky Coalition are planning to charter a bus to attend this rally, and discuss our agenda with attendees. If you would like to join us, please contact Tom Robak at tom@bigskycoalition.org.

News about Fire Suppression meeting, Hamilton

State fire panel discusses solutions in Hamilton
By JOHN CRAMER of the Missoulian

HAMILTON - Montana's Fire Suppression Interim Committee kicked off its statewide road tour Monday at ground zero in the West's growing dilemma on how to reduce large-scale wildfires at a time when more people are building homes in fire-prone forests.

The Bitterroot National Forest, which the U.S. Forest Service considers America's most threatened national forest because of the population explosion in the Bitterroot Valley's "wildland-urban interface," served as a backdrop for the state legislative committee's first public forum.

Link to full article.


Montana’s wood infrastructure hurting
by PERRY BACKUS - Ravalli Republic

State legislators gathered in Hamilton Monday in hopes of hearing ideas on how better to address the wildfires that have raged across Montana since 2000 - the year the Bitterroot burned.

The Legislature’s Fire Suppression Interim Committee learned the answers won’t be easy.

Link to full article.


Forest Supervisor discusses fire strategies
by JOEL GALLOB - Ravalli Republic

One-quarter of the Bitterroot National Forest’s 1.6 million acres have burned since 2000, Forest Supervisor Dave Bull told a meeting of the state Legislature’s Interim Committee on Fire Suppression Monday.

“How come we’ve been so lucky that hundreds of homes have not burned yet?” State Senator John Cobb R-Augusta, asked. “Is it just a matter of time?”

“It is a matter of time,” replied Bull. “People move here and most of them do not have a clue they are living in a fire-dependent ecosystem. They like the setting, they like seeing the turkey and deer.”

Link to full article.

Alternative sources may be possible

Letter to the Editor
Repost from The Missoulian

A column on the Missoulian Opinion page of April 17 states, “The corn ethanol craze, encouraged by state and federal policies needs to be reined in ... Otherwise it will continue to drive up food prices.”

While the use of ethanol as a component of motor fuels helps achieve renewable energy objectives, perhaps an alternate source of ethanol should be considered. One authority claims that one British Thermal Unit of fossil fuel produces a marginal 1.3 BTU of corn-derived ethanol. On the other hand, one BTU of fossil fuel will produce 17 BTUs of cellulosic ethanol derived from wood fiber.

If this disparity in energy balance is real, it appears to represent a good opportunity for our timber industry to provide cellulosic feed stocks for ethanol production. This could help mitigate the adverse effects of corn-derived ethanol on the country and world food supply at the same time.

Ted R. Burton, Missoula

Support BSC through our Amazon Store

It's an easy, yet valuable, way to support our efforts: When you are ready to buy something online, check our Amazon Affiliates store. Simply type in the item you want to shop for (today I bought a coffeemaker) and choose a section of the store (I chose Home and Garden), then hit the Go button and check out the great selection to choose from. Click on any item to read reviews, or get more information to help you make an informed purchase.

It's not just a good idea to raise funds. It's completely secure because it uses the same encrypted checkout system as Amazon.com, plus when you purchase items it puts a few percent of the sales price in the Big Sky Coalition coffers. And it won't cost you an extra dime!

Support better forest management, cleaner air, a healthier environment simply by shopping at our Amazon store?

We're working for you, and my new coffeemaker will brew great coffee to help keep me alert and sharp (I'm a BSC volunteer too) through those long winter days. It is still winter isn't it?

Beetles feast on trees in Bitterroot

By JOHN CRAMER of the Missoulian

HAMILTON - The mountain pine beetle gets most of the blame for killing vast swaths of evergreens across the West.

But there's another tree-munching insect that's causing trouble in the Bitterroot Valley by taking advantage of the growing number of new residents who mistakenly thin their pine stands in the spring.

Link to full Missoulian article.

Lawmakers Bringing Fire Suppression Debate to Hamilton

For immediate release

Contact: Sen. Rick Laible, Meeting Chairman, 406-821-0990
Leanne Heisel, Legislative Research Analyst, 406-444-3593

A legislative committee will meet in Hamilton April 28-29 to discuss issues surrounding the state's wildfire suppression efforts. The public is invited to attend and will have an opportunity to comment.

The Fire Suppression Interim Committee will meet beginning at 10 a.m. April 28 in the Tammany Conference Room of the Bitterroot River Inn, 139 Bitterroot Plaza Drive. Public comment is scheduled for about 3:45 p.m. The meeting is set to end at 5:30 p.m. but will run longer if more time for public comment is needed.

The committee is especially interested in hearing public reaction to several draft documents it has produced in recent months. The documents are available on the committee's Web site at www.leg.mt.gov/fire. Click on "Materials and Committee Recommendations to Review Prior to Participating in Public Hearings."

"The committee has been meeting in Helena for almost a year now to talk about reducing the costs of fire suppression and the impacts on our local communities," said Sen. Rick Laible, R-Darby, who will chair the Hamilton meeting. "This hearing will be the first 'road show' to a region significantly impacted by fires. Local citizens will have a chance to hear testimony from the various agencies involved in fire suppression and ask questions of experts in the field of fire suppression and forest health."

The agenda for April 28 includes a question and answer session with representatives of the USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). Also on the agenda are presentations on:

* The Bitterroot National Forest perspective on fire suppression, by Dave Bull, forest supervisor;

* Biomass, by Kristiina Vogt, professor of ecosystem management at the University of Washington College of Forest Resources.

* Fire mitigation in the wildland-urban interface, by Steve Woodruff, deputy director of Western Progress, Northern Region;

* Forest health in the Bitterroot, by Sonny LaSalle, Big Sky Coalition; and

* Fire history and the ecology of Montana forests, by Steve Arno, science writer and former research forester with the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula.

On April 29, the committee will reconvene at the hotel at 9 a.m. Members will depart by bus at 10:30 a.m. to tour Hayes Creek fuel reduction projects, French Basin, and the Middle East Fork of the Bitterroot River.

A complete agenda is available at www.leg.mt.gov/fire.

"The committee's goals are to draft legislation that provides the DNRC with additional tools for fire suppression, create a seamless system of interface between the various fire-fighting agencies, make better use of local contractors, and find ways to influence the federal system of fire suppression, including fuels reduction," Sen. Laible said.

The committee plans to hold similar public hearings in other communities, including Lewistown (May 16), Miles City (May 30), and Seeley Lake, Thompson Falls, and Libby (June 19-20).

Members of the Fire Suppression Interim Committee are Sens. John Cobb, R-Augusta; Kim Hansen, D-Harlem; Rick Laible, R-Darby; Dave Lewis, R-Helena; Gerald Pease, D-Lodge Grass; and Carol Williams, D-Missoula; and Reps. Steve Bolstad, D-Great Falls; Jim Keane, D-Butte; Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel; Rick Ripley, R-Wolf Creek; Chas Vincent, R-Libby; and Bill Wilson, D-Great Falls.

For more information, contact Leanne Heisel, legislative research analyst and committee staffer, at 444-3593 or lheisel@mt.gov.

Three Bitterroot thinning projects announced

By PERRY BACKUS of the Ravalli Republic

DARBY - Chuck Oliver doesn't have to look far to be reminded why many in Darby hope the U.S. Forest Service will start thinning national forest lands around town soon.

From the front window of his district ranger's office, Oliver can see the trees blackened by last summer's Tin Cup fire.

Some sound firefighting, a few strategic breaks in the thick timber and a fortunate change in the wind kept the fire from roaring right into Darby. For two days, the fire was the top priority of national firefighting resources.

Link to full article.