{"id":19744,"date":"2016-09-28T01:25:19","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T01:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/162.217.168.59\/?p=19744"},"modified":"2023-03-22T13:13:42","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T17:13:42","slug":"washington-dnr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forests.org\/fr\/washington-dnr\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington DNR And Partners Receive Conservation Award For A Forest Management Project To Avoid Catastrophic Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Forest\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0CLEARWATER BEACH, FL<\/strong> \u2014 It may seem counterintuitive, but some forests in the Pacific Northwest\u00a0have too many trees for their own good. These dense forests are more prone to disease, insect\u00a0infestations and, most troubling of all, huge fires that are\u00a0exacerbated by climate change. This year is poised to be another\u00a0record-setting year for fires. Last year was the fourth-worst wildfire\u00a0year since 1960 and six of the 10 largest U.S. wildfires were in the\u00a0Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n

At its heart, the Manastash-Taneum Resilient Landscape\u00a0Restoration Project recognizes that good forest management, which\u00a0includes responsible harvesting, allows fire-, insect-, and diseaseresistant\u00a0forests to thrive and also benefits a diversity of species. In\u00a0recognition of this work, the project received the SFI Leadership in\u00a0Conservation Award at the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)\u00a02016 Annual Conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so pleased to recognize the Washington Department of\u00a0Natural Resources (DNR) and the Yakama Nation, both SFI Program\u00a0Participants, and their partners the Washington Department of Fish\u00a0& Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Forest Service,\u201d\u00a0said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc.<\/p>\n

The project shows the benefits of using responsible harvesting to return forest ecosystems in the Pacific\u00a0Northwest to a condition before fire suppression became a dominant feature of forest management in the\u00a0region. In a recent report, The Nature Conservancy found that about 30% of all forests in eastern\u00a0Washington are too densely packed with trees and other vegetation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese forests will benefit if they are managed in ways that allow them to better tolerate wildfires.\u00a0Responsible harvesting, followed by controlled prescribed burning, should help reduce crown fires, which\u00a0are more dangerous and difficult to control. This is a practical way to help mitigate some of the damage\u00a0that climate change is expected to cause,\u201d said Laura Potash, The Nature Conservancy\u2019s project lead.<\/p>\n

In many parts of the Pacific Northwest, a lack of harvesting combined with fire suppression increased fuel\u00a0loads to dangerous levels. \u201cBy looking at historical levels of tree spacing we have information to provide\u00a0forest managers on the openings needed in a forest to make it less susceptible to catastrophic fire,\u201d said\u00a0Larry Leach, the Washington DNR Assistant Region Manager for State Lands in Southeast Washington.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s emphasis on removing smaller trees through thinning also offers an ideal mechanism to use\u00a0small-diameter logs from U.S. Forest Service lands. This approach helps to address forest health issues,\u00a0while also creating economic opportunities for the Yakama Nation and the local economy. The Yakama\u00a0Nation owns and operates the only log-milling facility in southeastern Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project gives us an opportunity to derive economic benefits from the land. It also helps show how\u00a0forest management can return the forest to a more open, less dense, state, which will encourage the\u00a0growth of edible greens and other traditional foods important to Yakama culture,\u201d says Kelly Olney a\u00a0Resource Allocation Manager at Yakama Forest Products, an SFI Program Participant.<\/p>\n

The Washington DNR is a national leader in research and collaboration on forest health. \u201cThey participate\u00a0in more than 60 research projects every year and set a great example for other SFI Program Participants,\u00a0all of whom commit to forest research as part of the SFI Forest Management Standard,\u201d Abusow said.<\/p>\n

The Washington DNR is one of 14 U.S. government agencies that are SFI Program Participants. Together,\u00a0they are raising the bar when it comes to conservation research and forestland management on state and\u00a0county forestlands. A quarter of these public forestlands are now certified to SFI.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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