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As arctic air flows over the Continental Divide and descends into the broad valleys of western Montana, Northern Rockies forest activists’ are getting out on-the-ground to protect forests and wild places from the Bush Administration’s so-called Healthy Forest Initiative. And anyone who has ever taken part in forest monitoring, which includes (among other things) walking in the woods, observing nature, looking for signs of wildlife, and taking photos, knows just how powerful of an experience it can be. Powerful in terms of overall effectiveness, but also in terms of how it impacts you as an individual. It’s no secret that the Healthy Forest Initiative has drastically changed the way Here in the Over the past year, we have monitored a number of these projects and have found some of them to include logging of old-growth, in unroaded areas and within important habitat for species such as lynx and goshawk. Fortunately, the Forest Service has canceled a few of the more egregious timber sales because of our forest monitoring efforts – demonstrating again the importance of getting out in the woods! While the Forest Service has been busy in the The HFRA was signed into law during a White House ceremony on While In Despite extensive logging and roadbuilding in East Fork drainage from the 1960s to late 1980s, the forest are home to bull trout, cutthroat trout, wolves, elk, moose, black bear, coyote, mule deer, goshawk, martin, black-backed woodpecker, pileated woodpecker and flammulated owls. Back in late November, a few days following an unproductive public meeting with Since over 6,000 acres are slated for logging as part of this “ For those unfamiliar with Forest Service vernacular, a “regeneration harvest” is a logging method that closely resembles a clearcut. In fact, most people would not be able to tell the difference and during the public meeting On that cold November morning, as we ascended an old logging road near Jennings Camp Creek and Colvert Creek within the Middle East Fork project area we could clearly see that many of the proposed logging units were right next to old clearcuts from either the 1960s or late 1980s. We thought out loud, “The very last thing this forest needs is more logging.” With the vehicle parked, lunch and water packed and maps, notebooks and cameras in hand we bushwhacked cross-country through unlogged, native forests that the Forest Service believes would be healthier if they were clearcut. As we dropped from the ridge into a small drainage within a “regeneration harvest” unit, we encountered massive Douglas-firs – first one-by-one…then whole groves. Although the Forest Service had described this area in largely negative terms during the public meeting – as a forest “destroyed” by insects and disease – the forest became more enchanting and magical with each step. Within this remarkable forest, our emotions ranged from honor and awe to anger and betrayal at the Forest Service for the callous and calculated approached some of them take “managing” our public forests. The Forest Service’s rationale for clearcutting this area, including cutting down the legacy Douglas-Fir trees, is that the trees are either infested with beetles or “at imminent risk of spread of the beetle epidemic.” Of course, predictably, they are also playing the “fire hysteria” card by telling community members these forests need to be “thinned” to protect the community from wildfire. This, despite the fact that the Forest Service’s own research shows that effective home protection involves taking simple steps within 200 feet of homes. This is just the latest in a long line of Forest Service propaganda designed to stir up public fear about natural processes within our forests such as fire, insects, disease and windthrow. While we found evidence of trees that had been killed by beetles, including old-growth Douglas-fir, the Forest Service is ignoring the fact that insect and disease mortality, even in “epidemic” proportions, is a natural and beneficial process that both forests and wildlife have evolved with for thousands of years. Upon closer inspection, we noticed that seemingly mundane things such as a large Douglas-fir tree weakened by beetles, snapped in half by strong winds and lying on the forest floor is actually the perfect spot for squirrels to stash mushrooms and cones for the long winter months. Rabbits and other small mammals are drawn to these large, downed trees for the relative safety they provide from predators such as owls, hawks, lynx and coyote. And let’s not forget that these downed trees retain a tremendous amount of moisture and over the years, return important nutrients to the soil once they decay. On a slope with a number of beetle-killed Douglas-fir we sat and listened to a half dozen woodpeckers hammering into the trees to feast on the nutritious beetles, the chorus reverberating around us in nature’s version of surround sound. Call it the Circle of Life, Web of Life or whatever you want. The point is that life, death and rebirth – whether by fire, disease, insects, wind, predator/prey relationships or other natural processes – are, and always will be, an important part of naturally functioning ecosystems. While some in the Forest Service might think they can make these forests “better than natural,” we’ll put our faith in nature’s ability every time. Matthew Koehler is with the For more information about the As an alternative to the You can also contact the Bitterroot National Forest directly to let them know how you feel about the Middle East Fork Hazardous Fuel Reduction project. Contact, Tracy Hollingshead, Sula Ranger District at thollingshead@fs.fed.us or 7338 Hwy 93 S.,
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