Forests in Montana’s Blackfoot Valley before and after thinning

The Nature Conservancy posted this before-and-after photo in Montana’s Blackfoot Valley:

With financial assistance from Montana’s Forests in Focus program they thinning dense forests to reduce the fuel available for potential fires while focusing work in the areas where homes meet the wildlands. These efforts are opening the forest, decreasing the chance that a fire could climb into the tree canopies and quickly spread. These more open forests also allow more light and moisture in to nurture the remaining trees, increasing their growth. Larger, healthier trees are more resistant to fire, disease and insects and they can store more carbon. Click here for more information.