guest commentary

Recent editorials by timber industry spokespersons are a wildly misleading attempt to promote increased logging of western U.S. forests under the guise of reducing wildland fires and mitigating climate change. The timber industry fails to mention, however, that logging is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. A recent scientific study found that completely protecting our national forests from all commercial logging would significantly increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gases (forests "breath in" CO2 and incorporate the carbon into new growth), while increasing logging on our public lands would have the opposite effect.

The logging industry also makes numerous scientifically-inaccurate assumptions about fire. For example, the industry would have us believe that little or no natural growth of forest will occur after wildland fire. In fact, some of the most vigorous and productive forest growth occurs after burns, including in high severity fire areas in which most or all of the trees were killed. [more]

firewater film company

Brothers Damon and Eric Ristau of Missoula's nascent Firewater Film Company sent us this great two-minute film of the fire that singed more than 300 acres of Mount Sentinel Wednesday evening. Enjoy.

Update

Update - 6:00 p.m.
The fire that blackened the west slope of Missoula's Mount Sentinel after flaring up at its base Wednesday night is now mapped at 390 acres, down from the estimate of 450, said Cindy Super of the DNRC early this evening.

She said the fire is now between 90 and 95 percent contained with only a few hotspots remaining. It should be wrapped up tonight.

The fire will be monitored overnight and, Super said, "We'll just have to see what tomorrow looks like. We want to make sure everyone stays safe and stays away from the crews working on it." [more]

breaking news

For a Thursday morning update click here.

UPDATE - 10:45 p.m.: The fire is now estimate at 300-350 acres, according to Cindy Super. Officials have not yet estimated the containment percentage.

Thirty people -- from the city, DNRC and Lolo NF -- will be fighting the fire through the night. The goal, Super said, is to lock down the flanks before Thursday's expected wind. "That will be a concern," she said.

By morning, three helicopters should be available to continue water drops.

Super confirmed that two children were involved in igniting the fire, but what was used to do so is still under investigation. She said the city will release more information Thursday. [more]

From The New West Blog

Laura Zuckerman has a pretty comprehensive story today for Reuters that looks at the overall outlook of this summer's Western fire season, with a primer on how more homes in the Wildland Urban Interface (know as the WUI) and the effects of global warming are changing the regional and national, approach to firefighting.

That's not really news to most of us in the West who have watched tactics evolve first from the warfare-like 10 a.m. rule to a realization in the 60s and 70s that fires are natural and in some cases, should be managed, not suppressed. Now though, fire managers stuck trying to balance managing fires for natural benefit and protecting property (and in some cases lives) as more and more homes creep closer to the wildland interface. Throw global warming into the mix and you're also weighing which fires are natural and beneficial to the ecosystem, and which can turn into catastrophic ones that can actually do more harm than good -- in the remote wildlands or in the interface.

Oh, and then there's the question of how to fund all of this.

Zuckerman's story doesn't fully address all the issues hanging out there, but it does raise some of the more important ones and gives some good fodder to think about and discuss as we head into another fire season. [more]

wildfire

A new lawsuit has been filed against the Forest Service and its use of chemical fire retardant to combat wildfires.

The Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics filed their second lawsuit in Missoula’s US District Court Wednesday, claiming the Forest Service is in violation of the Endangered Species Act and other laws because the chemical retardant does in fact significantly harm wildlife in lakes and rivers.

“Our goal all along, from day one, is to end the war on fire and turn it into a management, a police action, an armistice,” said FSEEE Executive Director Andy Stahl.

The FSEEE is a private, nonprofit organization based in Eugene, Oregon. Stahl says the Forest Service has nearly bankrupted itself by fighting fire -- about half of the agency's budget is spent on fighting fire -- and the time has come to change that. [more]

fire retardant lawsuit

U.S. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, overseer of the Forest Service, calmly walked out of the U.S. District Court in Missoula Wednesday evening cleared of contempt charges.

District Court Judge Donald W. Molloy ruled that although the Forest Service dragged its feet in completing environmental analyses on the effects of fire retardant on fish, his previous court order was eventually complied with.

Judge Molloy said the issue of contempt was unfortunate, but it at least got the government agency moving. [more]

FireSafe Montana Conference

The wildfire issue is a pressing one in the New West. Fire seasons are getting longer and drier by the year, fires are more severe, and, to top it off, the modern western migration is bringing an unprecedented influx of homes into the wildland-urban interface (WUI).

As wildland fire suppression operations increasingly consume dwindling Forest Service budgets and taxpayers grow ever wearier of footing the pricey bill of defending homes in the WUI, the onus for preparation and protection is increasingly falling on homeowners and local communities.

In 2006, interested parties from the public and private sector gathered in Helena at the Montana Communities and Wildfire Conference to begin a new discussion on the WUI and the West’s changing fire seasons. According to organizers, participants expressed overwhelming support for the formation of a non-governmental non-profit to perform public education, outreach and on-the-ground assistance in wildfire mitigation in the WUI. The result is FireSafe Montana, which held its first annual conference in Bozeman this week. [more]

Bison Reintroduction Discussed

Officials from the Lewistown-based U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) held a public meeting in Bozeman on Thursday, answering questions and taking comments on the formation of a 15-year comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Montana’s treasured Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR), the second largest national refuge in the lower 48. The previous plan was written in 1986.

The 1.1 million acre refuge along the Missouri River and Fort Peck Reservoir in northeastern Montana is home to well over 200 species of birds and a host of mammals including bighorn sheep, elk, pronghorn antelope, swift fox and the endangered black-footed ferret. The CMR is also a major recreational use area for hunters and fishermen.

The FWS extended the public scoping comment deadline to February 29, 2008. There will be two more public comment periods after plan alternatives and a draft are formed. The FWS hopes to have a final plan finished by Fall 2011. [more]

Introducing...

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In the Spring Issue and online here:

• Montana’s Cash Cowboy
• Real Ranch Living: Not Everyone is Selling Out
• Essay: The Family Farm, Version 2.0
• Essay: Tracks Across A Landscape
• Have Your Ranch & Develop It, Too
• Design Showcase: The Big and Little of Western Building
• Stuff It: Can Wolf Hunting Help Conserve the Species?
• Traffic Perplexes New Western Communities
• Boise in Its Own Little Bubble
• Revenge of the Resource Economy
• Spotlight North Idaho: On the Agenda: Youth, Growth & Silver
• Spotlight North Idaho: Players of the Panhandle
• Spotlight North Idaho: Coeur d’Alene Tribe Rides the Idaho Boom

[more]

By Robert Struckman, 2-01-08 | comments (23) | email story | print story