December 20, 2024 HFHC News Round Up
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich Named Ranking Member Of Senate Energy And Natural Resources Committee (Los Alamos Daily Post)
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) has been named Ranking Member for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee for the 119th Congress. The ENR Committee plays a critical role in setting national energy policies and managing our nation’s public lands within the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service. The Committee also oversees the U.S. Department of Energy and has jurisdiction over U.S. territories and nuclear waste policy.
Owyhee legislation fails to make year-end spending bill; Wyden and Bentz oppose monument (Statesman Journal)
Legislation to protect southeast Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands failed to make the year-end spending bill in Congress, but Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said he remains committed to finding a path forward in 2025 and still opposes a national monument designation for the region. Wyden had hoped legislation he worked years to craft would be included in the federal bill to continue funding the federal government and had worked with Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz on a companion bill in the U.S. House. As hopes for legislation faded this week, it opened the door for a scenario that Oregon environmental groups and other lawmakers have been pushing on for months: Having President Joe Biden establish an Owyhee Canyonlands National Monument using the Antiquities Act.
WNC environmental groups want Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan changed post-Helene (Blue Ridge Public Radio)
In light of Hurricane Helene, Western North Carolina conservationists are asking the U.S. government to change its Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan to further restrict logging activity. The Forest Plan was finished and approved in 2023, but environmentalists argue amendments are needed, saying the damage from Helene is so extensive that keeping the previously planned amount of land open to logging will destroy wildlife habitats and remove too many trees, which are critical to reducing carbon in the atmosphere. In a letter to the Forest Service this week, a coalition of local environmental groups said the agency’s forest management plans in WNC don’t go far enough to prepare forests for climate disasters.
A declining forest products industry threatens Wisconsin’s woodlands (Wisconsin Public Radio)
A new report by a conservation nonprofit is warning that Wisconsin’s declining forest products industry could damage forest health. The report, “Wisconsin Forests at Risk: Engaging Wisconsinites in Another Century of Forest Conservation,” highlights the numerous threats the state’s woodlands are facing, from declining loggers and mills to changing weather patterns and invasive species. According to Ron Eckstein, chair of public lands and forestry for Wisconsin’s Green Fire and a contributor to the report, the industry that includes loggers and paper mills helps maintain a healthy forest because they prune trees to enable the overall canopy to thrive.
US Forest Service Hiring Freeze Could Have Long-Term Impacts (Inside Climate News)
On Sept. 16, the United States Forest Service (USFS) announced a hiring freeze for the next fiscal year, meaning the agency won’t be able to hire any seasonal employees in 2025. The decision stems from budget shortfalls as appropriations from Congress fell about half a billion dollars short of the Forest Service’s request and impacts around 2,400 seasonal positions, including employees who perform trail work, facilities maintenance and ecological and climate research. The freeze will not, however, affect the hiring of the Forest Service’s 11,300 seasonal firefighters.
Senate approves sweeping outdoor recreation package (E&E News PM)
The Senate on Thursday passed a sweeping outdoor recreation package unanimously, sending it to President Joe Biden, who is likely to sign it into law. The “Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act,” H.R. 6492, which passed the House earlier this year, is a collection of bills that outdoor recreation groups have sought for decades. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) dropped an objection that had delayed Senate floor action, citing a vow from the “EXPLORE Act” backers — including Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) — to help pass S. 4569, the “Take It Down Act,” to require technology companies to remove nonconsensual intimate imagery. The “EXPLORE Act” would overhaul large portions of U.S. policy governing recreation on public lands. The package includes measures to increase internet access, allow ticketing to be moved online and streamline permitting. (Subscription Required)
What you should know about Trump’s nominee for top ag post (High Plains Journal)
Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, who is in line to become chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee next year, recently met with the nominee. He said Rollins is excited about becoming the secretary and realizes it’s a great opportunity to help a lot of people. “I think she’s going to do a great job. The other thing that’s really important. … She has the president’s ear. … They talk almost daily. This is somebody the president has a great deal of respect for. For all kinds of reasons, I think she’s going to do great.”
Comment: Carbon capture’s problem is it takes too many trees (Everett Herald)
Because it’s apparently too hard to cut the carbon emissions heating up the planet, many countries plan to sweep much of their pollution under the rug instead. This might be fine, except the rug will have to be comically, unrealistically large; the size of the entire US, according to a new study. The net-zero promises made by 140 countries will require turning 990 million hectares of land, or about 3.8 million square miles, into a giant carbon-dioxide sponge, according to a new study in the journal Nature Communications. That’s almost exactly the size of all the land and water within U.S. borders. It’s about two-thirds of all the cropland on the planet.
Federal government sues PacifiCorp over 2020 Oregon wildfire, as the costs of fires to the company climb (OPB)
The federal government is suing the electric utility PacifiCorp over a 2020 wildfire in Douglas County. The Archie Creek Fire burned across more than 131,000 acres, about half of that federal land, according to the legal complaint filed Thursday. The U.S. Attorney General’s Office accuses PacifiCorp of failing to maintain its equipment or the vegetation around it, thus sparking the fire that would destroy about 170 homes. Thursday’s lawsuit adds to a growing list of cases against utility companies for the role that charged powerlines play in sparking fires during wind storms and other extreme weather events. It filed on the same day that the Oregon Public Utility Commission approved PacifiCorp’s request to increase residential customer utility rates by nearly 10%. The company partly blamed wildfire costs for driving rate increases.
Anatomy of a fire response: How USFS wildland firefighters tackle wildfires (Shasta-Trinity National Forest)
When a pillar of smoke rises above the treetops, certain images come to mind about what happens next. Fire engines race to the scene, and firefighters get to work dousing the flames. The bigger the fire, the bigger the response. But a lot goes into how U.S. Forest Service firefighters respond to wildfire, much of which the public might not see. The planning, tactics and resources deployed to fight wildfires is a complex and ever-changing battle. So, what goes into fighting wildland fires? The following is a breakdown of how wildfires are fought, from beginning to end.
When wildfire strikes: the coordinated effort behind fire response in the Tahoe region (Sierra Sun)
The 2024 wildfire season has proven once again to be an active one, with California witnessing over 7,100 wildfires that have scorched more than 1 million acres. The Tahoe region, in particular, experienced several major fires, including one of the largest in state history. While many homes and structures were lost, and lives were impacted, the devastating consequences could have been much worse. For residents of the Truckee-Tahoe area, the recent fires served as a stark reminder of the region’s ongoing wildfire risks.
Forest Service plans timber salvage in Stanley basin (Idaho Mountain Express)
The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comments on a timber salvage project that would help generate revenue from burned and diseased lodgepole pine stands in a 250-acre section of the Stanley Basin. The Wapiti Fire ravaged 129,000 acres of the Sawtooth, Salmon-Challis and Boise national forests last summer. The project, announced Dec. 13, would also reduce the risk of future wildfire and pine-beetle infestations in the Dry Creek and Valley Creek areas, about 11 miles northwest of Stanley, according to the Forest Service.
Pinecone Project aims to recover Idaho’s forests after Wapiti Fire (Idaho Capital Sun)
One organization is aiming to help forest managers recover the trees lost in one of Idaho’s most devastating fires this summer. On Nov. 3, the nonprofit Daughters of the American Revolution launched a fundraising campaign to raise money to help restore scorched south and central Idaho forests. The Wapiti Fire, which began on July 24 by a lightning strike two miles southwest of Grandjean, spanned about 130,000 acres across the Boise National Forest, Sawtooth National Forest and the Salmon-Challis National Forest.
USDA Forest Service, IWSI America to launch national apprenticeship program (HR Drive)
The Institute for Workplace Skills & Innovation America is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to develop and launch a national apprenticeship program for forestry technicians, according to a Dec. 10 announcement. The apprenticeship program is part of the Forest Service’s strategy to meet current and future staffing needs and ensure the long-term sustainability of forest management across the U.S., as well as offer career opportunities to underrepresented and marginalized groups.
The Hardwood Federation’s message for Pres. Trump (HBS Dealer)
The Hardwood Foundation, an umbrella group representing thousands of hardwood businesses in every state in the U.S., recently penned a letter to the incoming administration. The letter, which was addressed directly to President-Elect Trump, shared a number of industry-specific concerns and requests for the new administration to weigh before enacting legislation.
AF&PA urges veto of NY bill (Recycling Today)
The Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) and its president and CEO Heidi Brock have released a statement urging New York Governor Kathy Hochul to veto a forest products-related piece of legislation that has been passed by both chambers of that state’s legislature. “AF&PA asks Governor Hochul to once again veto New York’s TREES Act which continues to ignore the fact that the U.S. paper and wood products industry champions sustainable forestry and does not contribute to deforestation,” says Brock.In addition to saying the bill’s goals have little to do with most paper or board used by individuals and companies in the Empire State, the AF&PA portrays it as a law that would add to regulatory and paperwork burdens for businesses operating in the state.
DTO presents awards to community members (KQEN)
The Douglas Timber Operators recently gave two community members awards for their unique, long-standing service to the local community and the management of the forests. The 2024 Tough Tree Award was presented to Swanson Group CEO, Steve Swanson. The award is given to recognize individuals “for efforts above and beyond the call of duty for the forest products industry, timber workers, and natural resource dependent communities”. DTO Executive Director Matt Hill said, “Steve is not an ivory tower kind of CEO. He’s in the trenches with us, and stays in all the hard fights for sustainable forest management in Oregon”. Hill said, “My appreciation for Steve deepened in 2020 when our community experienced the Archie Creek Fire. Our DTO membership discussed a relief fund to help those who lost their homes. No one reacted faster and more generously than Steve Swanson”.
T.O. Richardson and T&T Logging, a 3rd generation business in Hinds County (Mississippi Today)
T.O. Richarson, 36, rolls up after transporting a log load to Hermanville. Dust devils swirl in his wake, dancing behind the log hauler he calls… his baby. The weather is perfect. High, blue skies on a hot day made tolerable by a slight breeze refreshing enough to cool hard-working men like T&T Logging owner T.O. Richardson and his crew, masters in their elements, who prefer the outdoors, working with their hands and expertly operating humongous machinery clearing land of timber. In this case, a 110-acre tract of land in Jackson. Logging consists of cutting down trees and bunching them together with a feller buncher. Next, a skidder is used to haul the cut timber from the forest to a loading deck, where the trees are processed by a loader and placed on a log hauler for transport to a mill.
Wes Studi, Owen Crow Shoe & Tanaya Beatty Among Cast In Western ‘Timber Lands’ About Feuding Families; Filming Underway In Oregon (Yahoo News)
Oscar Honorary Award winner Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans), Owen Crow Shoe (Horizon franchise) and Tanaya Beatty (Yellowstone) are among the ensemble cast of modern western Timber Lands, which is currently filming in southern Oregon. Set against the backdrop of Oregon’s vast timber industry, the Yellowstone-esque story follows two families with a deep-seated generational hatred for each other which comes to a head after the tragic death of one of the families’ celebrated bronc riders. At the center of it all, Russ (Studi), a man with deep ties to his native land, seeks to have the final word and bring about justice to a rivalry threatening to consume all they have left.
Steel-Timber Hybrid Buildings Report Highlights Potential for Tall Building Market Growth (Softwood Lumber Board)
Reaching the lumber industry’s vast market share potential will require growth of a variety of lumber-based and hybrid building systems, but steel-timber hybrid construction represents one of the greatest areas of opportunity. According to an analysis for the SLB by Forest Economic Advisors, steel and mass timber warehouses represent a potential annual volume of 2.4 BBF, while steel and mass timber multifamily projects represent 3.6 BBF of annual opportunity.
