Clearing fuels from forests needed

Massive forest fires in western parts of our country are not only choking us with layers of thick smoke but are leaving behind millions of acres of scorched hillsides, ridges, and valleys.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation, record wildfire seasons in recent years have destroyed millions of trees. Many forests have burned so severely that natural regeneration isn’t possible, making replanting necessary.

Unfortunately, much of the U.S. Forest Service budget is diverted to fighting massive fires with much less funding left for site preparation and replanting. “This has left the Forest Service with a backlog of more than 1 million acres of forest land in need of replanting. Each year—with every wildfire, storm or insect epidemic—the backlog steadily increases,” the foundation claims.

What is needed is a massive salvage and replanting effort such as that undertaken by Weyerhaeuser following the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. That morning, the mountain blasted sideways at 650 mph and devastated almost 150,000 acres of privately owned, state, and national forests.

Weyerhaeuser was the largest private landowner impacted by the eruption. Nearly 68,000 acres, about 14%, of its St. Helens Tree Farm were flattened.

Much of the downed timber was usable but was at great risk of damage from insects and diseases. Over two years, Weyerhaeuser recovered 850 million board feet of timber—enough lumber to build 85,000 three-bedroom homes. Tree removal prepared the land for replanting. By June 1987, Weyerhaeuser hand planted 18.4 million trees on over 45,500 acres. Today, a healthy forest thrives.

The problem with denuded forestlands in need of replanting is increasing. Overall in the U.S., 86 large fires have burned close to 1.5 million acres in 12 states so far this year, the National Interagency Fire Center reported last week. Heavy smoke is again blanketing much of our western states and Canada.

Unfortunately, smoke from wildfires is overlapping the COVID-19 pandemic. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention continues to warn it is a huge health risk.

In 2020, California wildfires alone generated more than 91 million metric tons of CO2, according to Global Fire Emissions Database. That was about 25% more than annual emissions from fossil fuels in the entire state.

A 2015 U.S. Forest Service study of federal forests in the Wenatchee area found that large wildfires can leave behind thousands of acres of fire-killed trees that eventually become fuels for future fires.

The growing number of wildfires across the planet are public health threats. Robbing them of their fuel is critical to controlling massive wildfires.

Salvage logging of burned-over lands makes sense. Milling charred trees creates thousands of jobs and makes new homes more affordable. Replanting seedlings replenishes the forests’ ability to convert CO2 into life-giving oxygen.

The bottom line: Clearing dead trees and debris from the forest floor is urgently needed.

– Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer, and retired president of the Association of Washington Business. He now lives in Vancouver, Washington, and can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.