Slice of Life: A layman's look at forest management

I grew up in the high mountain region of Lewis County, Washington, a short drive from the base of majestic Mount Rainier. I was raised in the midst of logging country. Many of the people in our community made their living from logging, either by working in the woods or driving log trucks. Many people filled jobs in the mills, creating needed wood materials from the harvested trees. Crew trucks headed into the woods early in the morning and chainsaws ran most of the day. Helicopters lifted loads of timber from hard to reach areas that could not be assessed by the miles of logging roads crisscrossing the forest. Logging was the life of the community and an honorable profession to belong to.

Off days were spent by families traveling those logging roads to reach fishing lakes and hiking trails. Hunters utilized those same roads for access to the game that put food on the tables for their families. And firefighters, often also the loggers who depended on the woods to be healthy to grow the timber that created their jobs, would use those same roads to combat fires that might start from a lightning strike or negligent visitor. Clean up crews also went into the woods to clean clear cuts, burning fuel on the forest floor to prevent fires from burning long and burning hot. Then crews replanted trees for forest sustainability.

Growing up in this environment, I never heard the phrase “fire season.” Yes, Smokey Bear stood watch at the Ranger Station to warn of the fire danger level during the summer months, but fire season? That had yet to be invented. In recent years “fire season” has been normalized as part of our life. Letting fires “burn themselves out” has been an environmental call, managed by distant bureaucrats. Fires seem to grow and the cost to us all is astronomical. The costs in medical expenses and lost health to residents forced to breath in smoke and harmful fumes. The costs in our quality of life and ability to be outdoors enjoying nature. The costs in loss of wildlife burned out and killed by fire as well as the loss of their habitat. And don’t forget the loss of usable timber, loss of tax income from forestry and the loss of jobs for loggers and timber industry workers at all levels.

Recently Senator Daines put forth a bill to reverse the Cottonwood decision. This will hopefully allow decisions about local forest health to be determined and directed by local professionals. Historically the Cottonwood decision had left forests languishing with infestations, damage and wildfire risks while battles were fought in courts far from the location of the forest. Access to forests has been limited and roads have been closed off and allowed to grow over. All due to a loophole that focused on any minor change in habitat or animal migration being looked at by a court far from the location of the concern. These decisions to close roads and access limit the ability of firefighters and others who need to be in the forest to maintain it and keep it healthy. Perhaps now we can once again look at forests with a local perspective and move towards utilizing the resources within it in a healthy sustainable manner. Daines’ bipartisan bill passed out of the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in July with a 16-4 vote. It is hoped this bill will allow fires to be reduced, watersheds to be improved, wildlife protected, and jobs restored in the forestry industry, all worthwhile objectives.

Currently about 50% of the land in western states, including Montana, is managed by the federal government. (www.Americanlandscouncil.org) And the federal government loses approximately twenty-seven cents per dollar it spends on stewardship of federal lands, for a cost in excess of two billion dollars per year to taxpayers. Montana, on the other hand, is managing to provide a positive cash flow of over eight dollars in revenue for each dollar spent on state managed land. As fiscally responsible citizens, we should see this as another great reason to bring management of public lands back to local control.

It just makes sense to me that local people, who know the local forest, can manage it better. They can protect the health of the forest and with proper resources locally ready, be able to save the forest before it burns or flounders with an infestation that threatens the health of the trees and wildlife. For these reasons, I will be watching what comes next from our representatives, in Washington, D.C., as well as in Helena, to protect our forests, our quality of life, the air we breathe and the jobs we must have to provide for our families.

I in no way pretend to be an expert in forest management though I have done my due diligence. I do know I love living in a region that has the four seasons God created. I love each of the seasons of the year for recreation opportunities, the weather, the changing colors, the views and for watching wildlife during each cycle of their life. But a five season year? I am not a fan. And I am wholeheartedly in favor of stamping “fire season” out.

Chelle is a recovering social worker who currently works as a licensed massage therapist at Cherry Creek Myotherapy. She moved to Montana with her husband David and two pups, Lucas and Turner, where they seek “the quiet life” amid new adventures.