Redwood Reader

In a general sense people are beginning to reverse thinking on many issues covered in this blog. This is part of a general trend and will have its ups and downs, and some hold onto old style thinking that made the country what is was before so many resources began petering out. mNo mention of glomalin or subsoils in any of these articles though-yet.
In fire control, a Times-Standard opinion piece points out the incredible destruction caused by the new style fire mmanagement that has come to the fore in recent decades. While probably appropriate for saving homes and development, the backfires and erosion from fire fighting and salvage logging are often considerably greater than if the fire had been left to burn out on its own. The writer has witnessed several large fires in back country, and they were all finally extinguished by fall weather rather than suppression efforts. THe modern method has created a bureaucracy that can be manipulated for pay, benefits and perks and it is no wonder so many fires are started by wildland firefighters. As a friend who did this work years ago told me, the work is hard but you have no bills-everything is provided, and the food is excellant.
The Real-and unexpected- Threat From Forest Fires Felice Pace, 8/20/06, http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_4211130
The LA TImes reports on large desert fires in the Mojave, where fire is not part of the natural cycle. A skeptic claims fuel loading is caused by a wet winter causing an abundance of wildflowers. Further reading refers us to red brome and a well known culprit in other western deserts- cheatgrass. the loss of ancient woody perrenials is mentioned but the loss of water storage via the root systems and their partners is not. Most natives are very long lived and recovery will take centuries.
Desert Fires' Damage Will Last Janet Wilson 8/21/06 http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-desert21aug21,1,6604582,full.story?coll=la-news-environment
Another article reports on the Bohemian Clubs forest management. As usual, the accountants are paying off land maintenence by cutting the large old trees, and increasing the cut to keep up with growing expenses. This is being done in the name of fire control, althoough by now it is clear large old trees survive low intensity fire, and that brush and slash lead to hot fires in second growth which will kill the big old trees. This is one of the largest privately held redwood groves left. Brush and erosion complaints are fueling calls for a rollback. Here is where paying to preserve large trees could really have a big payoff, sequestering carbon, preserving water quality and preventing erosion.
Bohemian Club Has Ax To Wield Tim Reiterman 8/21/06 http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-bohemian21aug21,1,5305287.story?coll=la-news-environment
The San Jaquin River will benefit from a decsion in an 18 year old court case regarding the amount of water withdrawn. Once one of the biggest chinook runs in California, an irrigation project decades ago drained the river to a level unsurvivable for the fish.A 1949 regulation that ordered enough water for fish to survive was ignored. Agriculture flourished under the regime but that is being challenged in many areas now as hte decline of fish runs has activated many people. Agriculture mostly needs to improve its methods as vast amounts of open irrigated water are lost to contamination and evaporation.
Settlement Will Provide Water For Parched River Bettina Boxall 8/20/06 http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-sanjoaquin20aug20,1,599394.story?coll=la-news-environment
Finally, a little blurb in the Eureka papers about convening a suuden oak death council with a member from the Board of Supervisors gave tantalizing clues abouot the rapid spread of this pest in Humboldt County. The Council was abandonded in February for lack of action, but it seems the disease is widespread, moving quickly and infiltrating north where it was conjectured to have a rough time. We noted the excellant article in the Northcoast Journal a short while ago.
County May Reactivate Sudden Oak Death Coouncil 8/21/06 Times-Standard http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_4213468. Meanwhile, Janice Alexander, KAtie Palmieri and Susan Frankel at COMTF continue to turn relevant information at a monthly pace. They have recently updated the website to make it more user friendly. www.suddenoakdeath.org