No time to waste
Environmentalists versus the U.S. Forest Service is not a new theme, but needs a fresh look. As reported in the Methow Valley News, the North Cascades Conservation Council (NCCC) is suing the agency over the Twisp Restoration Project, which naturally involves cutting trees. NCCC contends Forest Service plans do not provide sufficient detail to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
NEPA was signed into law in 1970 with the intent of protecting the environment from poorly considered projects by requiring a careful analysis before proceeding. NEPA was well-intended, but has unexpected consequences. NEPA documents can be costly both in terms of time and money. NEPA favors the status quo.
Our climate is changing and we are woefully unprepared. We have already seen horrifying outcomes from forest fires, and we can expect the climate to only get hotter and drier. Fire requires fuels, and quite simply we have too many trees. Instead of protecting every tree for carbon, we need to start imagining how a fire-resilient forest should look. Historically, Native Americans intentionally lit fires, which along with lightning resulted in more open areas and far sparser forests than we have today. Fires could burn regularly without devastation. Removal of Native Americans from the land followed by a century of fire suppression has put us in a bad place.
Past forest management practices of extensive road-building, clear-cutting and selective cutting of the finest trees makes it hard for many to trust the Forest Service, or to embrace the forest products industry, but we cannot ignore the peril of insect epidemics and fires. We need the forest products industry for more than materials to build houses — we need them to remove trees. The larger trees of fire-resistant species are to remain, but at a sustainable density. Going forward we will need periodic prescribed fire, which will require acceptance of smoke. We cannot afford to fritter away time debating details and procedure, as our forests burn and burn again, sometimes leaving no trees alive to argue about.
John F. Marshall