SEPTEMBER 29, 2006

Safety isn't expensive, it's priceless!

FIRE UPDATE

Highlights for the Week

· Last week 524 new fires burned 131,953 acres.

· Minnesota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon received snow and rain; subsequently most incidents were contained.

· Strong northeasterly winds across most of California Friday through Sunday led to challenging fire conditions. However, the Incident Management Teams and fire fighters of the Day, Bar, Uncle and Bassetts Fires successfully held the lines.

· National Preparedness was lowered to Level 3 on Saturday Sept. 23.

· Structures year to date destroyed: 2122

· Fires year-to-date: 82,955

· Fires 10-year average: 63,417

· Acres year-to-date average: 8,977,060

· Acres 10-year average: 5,019,462

· Number of personnel currently deployed on wildfires: 9924

Fire Weather Outlook

High pressure will build over the west this week for warm, dry, and less windy conditions. A high pressure ridge moving over the west has diminished offshore flow in California with light winds most locations. The next weather system will move over the central U.S. mid-week with another shot of cooler conditions and showers. In the west, there will be little chance for precipitation.

Misc. Fire Facts:

· 98% of the wildland fires in the United States are suppressed and contained during initial attack (IA) or extended initial attack while they are small, usually in the first or second day.

· 20,000 firefighters and resource specialists will be assigned each day to wildfires during the peak of a season.

· The “folks at home” make sure the essential work and service gets done. They cover the critical mission work that employees assigned to fires have left behind.

· Congress will provide an additional $200 million for emergency firefighting.

*Information as of 9/25/07

Idaho Governor Risch to present roadless petition: On September 20, Governor Jim Risch prepared a petition from the state of Idaho concerning the 9.3 million acres of inventoried roadless areas on national forests in Idaho and presented it to Under Secretary Mark Rey. The Governor's petition makes recommendations for management of more than 280 roadless areas in the state and uses as a point of departure the current management of these roadless areas. Some recommendations differed from current management with a priority to improve forest health in some roadless areas located near communities. These proposed changes are the result of public comments as well as expert analysis.

District Court Sets Aside 2005 State Petition Rule and Reinstates 2001 Roadless Rule in California v. USDA and Wilderness Society v. USFS: On September 20, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a 55-page opinion in these consolidated cases which held that the Forest Service’s adoption of the State Petitions for Inventoried Roadless Area Management Rule (the State Petition Rule) and concurrent repeal of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Roadless Rule) in 2005 violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Based on these NEPA and ESA violations, the court set aside the 2005 State Petitions Rule, reinstated the 2001 Roadless Rule and enjoined the Forest Service from “taking any action contrary to the [2001] Roadless Rule without undertaking environmental analysis consistent with this opinion.”

Wyoming Seeks to Strike Down 2001 Roadless Rule Again: Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal on Friday September 22 tried to revive a ruling that enjoined the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule after the California’s judge decision. Wyoming wants to revive the 2003 ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Brimmer that enjoined the 2001 Roadless Rule nationally. That decision was rendered mute by the 10^th U.S. Court of Appeals when it rejected an appeal of Judge Brimmer’s decision because the 2005 State Petition Rule had already replaced the 2001 Rule.

California Judge Asked to Stop Biscuit Fire Recovery Sales in Roadless Areas: Following the court decision on September 20 that struck down the 2005 State Petition Roadless Rule and re-instituted the 2001 Roadless Conservation Rule, Oregon’s governor and environmental groups have asked the same judge to force the Forest Service to stop the Mike’s Gulch and Blackberry salvage logging sales on Oregon’s Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forests. The projects are in the South and North Kalmiopsis Inventoried Roadless Areas and are designed to salvage timber burned in the 2002 Biscuit Fire. In the September 20 ruling the judge said the Forest Service is “enjoined from taking any further action contrary to the (2001) Roadless Rule without undertaking environmental analysis consistent with this opinion.” In a filling Friday (Sept. 22) the Justice Department and Forest Service said they do not believe the Sept 20 ruling applies to the two salvage projects because they were begun in August, well before last week’s order.

Urban Natural Resources Institute Informational Webcast: A webcast session held Wednesday, September 20th by Forest Service’s Northern Research Station’s Urban Natural Resources Institute provided a progress report on the research components of the Living Memorials Project, which aims to provide a sustainable remembrance of the September 11, 2001 events. Because of the overwhelming desire to honor and memorialize the tragic losses that occurred on September 11, the United States Congress asked the FS to create the Living Memorials Project at Ground Zero, in Pennsylvania at the crash site of Flight 93 and at the Pentagon. This initiative invokes the resonating power of trees to bring people together and create lasting, living memorials to the victims of terrorism, their families, communities, and the nation.

Grasslands Plan Briefing Provided: On September 21, representatives of the Pike-San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron-Comanche National Grasslands (CO and KS) briefed officials at the Forest Service Washington Office and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment about the Cimarron-Comanche’s Grassland Plan, which is the first in the nation to be completed under the 2005 Planning Rule and the first stand-alone Management Plan for the Grasslands. The Plan’s anticipated release date is in mid-October.

United States Citizens Arrested on National Forest for Canadian Border Drug Smuggling: Two Idaho residents were arrested on federal drug smuggling charges after a Forest Service employee observed an aircraft enter Idaho from the direction of Canada and land on Lake Koocanusa, a large lake straddling Canada and the Kootenai National Forest (ID). Over 400 pounds of marijuana valued at $2 million dollars was seized. Officers also seized the airplane, a truck, motor home, a camper and boat. Forest Service, Department of Homeland Security – Customs and Border Protection, Montana Highway Patrol and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department officers cooperated in the arrests and seizures.

Mississippi Inventory More than Fifty Percent Complete: The Forest Service Southern Research Station, the state of Mississippi, and neighboring states have re-inventoried more than fifty percent of Mississippi’s forests since Hurricane Katrina. All counties in the southeastern tier of the state have been completed. In addition, most of the delta counties are complete. Preliminary analysis of the data is underway.

Pacific Southwest Region Receives Reimbursement of $14 million for 1994 Fire:

Last week, the Department of Justice issued a press release announcing a settlement of $14 million to the Forest Service by Southern California Edison (SCE) as reimbursement for the Big Creek Fire on the Sierra National Forest (CA). The fire, which ignited on August 24, 1994, burned 5,600 acres and threatened developed areas within the forest. The fire started when a high-voltage SCE transformer caused an electrical explosion, igniting surrounding vegetation. The complaint alleged that SCE failed to comply with vegetation clearance requirements, failed to maintain appropriate animal guards, and failed to maintain working fire suppression equipment. The lawsuit alleged that SCE was liable for fire suppression costs, resource damages to National Forests system lands and other damages resulting from the fire. The reimbursement money will be used for restoration work in the Region.

Forest Approves Cloud Seeding Permit: The week of September 11, the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests (Colorado and Wyoming) agreed to issue a five-year permit to Weather Modification, Inc. of Fargo, North Dakota, acting on behalf of the State of Wyoming, to allow for the installation of twelve cloud seeding facilities on National Forest System lands. Each facility will require a space of 10x10 feet for equipment placement, constituting less than .028 acres of actual use. The permit will allow the State of Wyoming to determine if snowpack water yield can be increased economically without adverse environmental effects.

Coal Bed Methane Development Area Toured: On September 17, Representative John Salazar, San Juan National Forest (Colorado) Supervisor Mark Stiles, and local government representatives toured potential coal bed- methane drilling sites in the Northern San Juan Basin of La Plata and Archuleta counties north of the Southern Ute Reservation. The San Juan Public Lands Center (Colorado) issued the Northern San Juan Basin Coal Bed Methane (CBM) project final environmental impact statement (Final EIS) and published the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register on August 4. Landowners on the outcrop of the Fruitland Coal Formation have concerns about drilling close to the outcrop, where Stiles said the scientific consensus was that the effects of drilling on domestic wells would likely be greater. The preferred alternative calls for geologic, hydrologic, and gas-reservoir information to be obtained from individual or small groups of test wells in less sensitive areas before development would be considered in more sensitive areas near the Fruitland Outcrop. Salazar called for further study of the hydrological system on and in the formation.

Prairie Dog Management EIS Announced: On September 18, the Nebraska National Forest announced plans to begin a one-year process to amend the Forest and Grassland Plan to develop criteria to determine under what conditions actions would be taken to either increase or decrease prairie dog populations on the Buffalo Gap and Fort Pierre (South Dakota) and Oglala National Grasslands (Nebraska). The environmental impact statement (EIS) and analysis will incorporate a broad range of tools and management opportunities such as livestock grazing in managing prairie dog habitat to protect basic soil, water, and vegetation resources while maintaining healthy prairie dog towns and black-footed ferret populations. The Forest amended its Management Plan in 2005 to allow the use of rodenticide along National Grassland and private boundaries in South Dakota and Nebraska to control existing prairie dog encroachment onto private property and protect private property owners by minimizing further prairie dog migration from public land. Senator John Thune issued a press release stating his approval of the decision to move forward with an EIS with a one-year timeline.

Youth Facility Proposed Land Exchange: The County of Solano requested that the Forest Service consider a land exchange involving National Forest lands currently occupied by the Fouts Springs Youth Facility (FSYF) on the Mendocino National Forest for nearby property located adjacent to the Snow Mountain Wilderness known as Deafy Glade. Solano County purchased the Deafy Glade parcel from a private owner in anticipation of the proposed land exchange. The (FSYF) is operated under a special use permit to Solano County but is actually located in Colusa County. The Facility houses young men between the ages of 13 – 24 with criminal records. The Forest Service completed a Feasibility Analysis, signed by the Forest Supervisor on September 12, 2006, as well as a valuation consultation, a mineral report and a water rights determination. Analysis findings indicate that the exchange would not be in the best interests of the public or the federal government. The forest has indicated they are willing to discuss purchasing this land from Solano County.

Sacramento Bee Article on Costs of Fighting Fires: A front-page story ran in the September 17^th Sacramento Bee on the high cost of suppressing fires nationwide. The article was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tom Knudsen, and featured photos from the recent Ralston Fire on the Tahoe and Eldorado National Forests. The article appeared in several newspapers and featured quotes from several Forest Service retirees.

Wildland Fires on the Superior National Forest: On September 7, a series of lighting strikes occurred as a storm passed through northeastern Minnesota. As a result, more than a dozen small fires started to burn on the Superior National Forest, including the Red Eye and Famine fires inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) near the Gunflint Trail. By September 15 both fires had grown significantly, and strong winds were pushing these two fires towards the boundary of the Wilderness with the potential to threaten areas outside the BWCAW. The county sheriff ordered a cautionary evacuation which affected more than 100 people. As of September 16, cooler temperatures and a small amount of precipitation helped to reduce fire activity, but the evacuation remained in effect. Local fire crews continue to work with an interagency fire team on the east side of the Forest with additional assistance from crews from the Midewin National Prairie and National Park Service.

Ottawa National Forest Celebrates 75th Anniversary: September 15, the Ottawa National Forest celebrated the 75th anniversary of its establishing legislation by re-dedicating the original Forest monument in Kenton, Michigan. Over 100 members of the public participated in ceremonies that were similar to the 1931 dedication, including the placement of a time capsule within the monument. The original monument was restored in 2006. The program included local residents and retirees, Forest Supervisor Bob Lueckel, and Kenton District Ranger Ralph Miller. Representatives from Senators Levin and Stabenow's local offices were on hand as well. Many agencies, organizations, partners, and volunteers worked to create the Ottawa National Forest, and continue to support restoration efforts.

Region 9’s Collection of Historic Photos Transferred to NARA: September 18, the Eastern Region transferred about 6,500 historic photos, stored for decades in the Regional Office, to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Chicago office. Archeologist Jill Ferone worked with Regional Archeologist Sandra Forney and Regional Records Manager Jodie Vanselow to prepare the collection for transfer. In addition, the 6,500 photographs were digitized and will be housed on the Forest History Society (FHS)’s website, making them available to Forest Service professionals, researchers, and the public. The collection will make its online debut in 2007, and will be the largest collection of searchable historical Forest Service photos on the internet. 50 images representing the character and depth of the collection can be viewed now at http://www.lib.duke.edu/forest/.

“How to Start a Sustainable Tourism Project” Webcast: On September 21, Pennsylvania Wilds, Warren County Visitor’s Bureau, and Warren County Planning are hosting a Webcast entitled, “How to Start a Sustainable Tourism Project.” The Presentation, sponsored by the Conservation Fund, will feature national tourism experts who will describe a variety of methods and approaches for starting sustainable tourism projects.

2006 National Public Affairs Conference: October 17-19, the National Public Affairs Conference will be held in Madison, Wisconsin at the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL). It is being co-hosted by Region 9 and FPL. The theme for this year’s meeting is “Embracing and Expanding the Circle of Conservation.” We will reflect on our roots and history to fuel new ideas to shape our future. The choice of Wisconsin for the venue provides the unique opportunity to visit the site where the principles of restoration were outlined by Aldo Leopold, and to meet the people who carry on his legacy. The journalism school at the University of Wisconsin is ranked number seven in the country by U.S. News & World Report and offers a degree in environmental journalism and an M.A. program in environmental communications. We have invited Forest Service colleagues to discuss emerging issues, and several distinguished professors and authors to discuss environmental journalism.

The New School and Forest Service to present Land-markings: 12 Journeys through 9/11 Living Memorials: In 2002, the Forest Service initiated its Living Memorials Project at the request of Congress in order to both provide funding support to a number of community memorial projects and to understand changes in the use of trees and the landscape in response to the tragedies of September 11, 2001 (9/11). From October 7 to 27, the New School and the Forest Service will highlight these efforts in the multimedia exhibition, Land-markings: 12 Journeys through 9/11 Living Memorials. The President of the New School and the 9/11 Commission is Bob Kerrey. This exhibition brings documentary photo, video, and archival information on hundreds of 9/11 Living Memorial Sites together for the first time. The exhibition will be presented in the newly restored National Park Service Federal Hall National Memorial in downtown Manhattan at 26 Wall Street, and will be open to the public in conjunction with the reopening of this landmark space.

Region Announces Colorado Recreation RAC Formation: On September 22, the Rocky Mountain Region and the Colorado Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced a call for nominations to fill 11 positions on a Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (Recreation RAC) that will provide recommendations on recreation fee matters for federal lands in Colorado. The Region’s nomination search is open until October 23 for persons representing recreation users; outfitters and guides; local environmental groups; state tourism officials; local government officials; and American Indian tribes.

Wildland Fire Conference held in Boise, Idaho: The Boise, Payette and Sawtooth National Forests participated in the “Idaho Wildland Fire Conference: Building Partnerships for Safer Communities,” on September 26-27 in Boise, Idaho. Sponsored by the Idaho State Fire Plan Working Group, speakers included Idaho Governor, Jim Risch and Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment, Dave Tenny. The conference focused on planning and implementing wildland fire fuels education and mitigation projects in Idaho's wildland urban interface. The conference provided a networking opportunity for over 150 employees from federal, state and local agencies. Topics included fire risk reduction on private lands, biomass utilization – economics and biology, and wildland interface codes and ordinances.

DC-10 Used to Combat Fire: On September 24, a modified DC-10 was used to help combat the Day Fire which ignited on Labor Day and has burned nearly 140,000 acres on the Los Padres National Forest. The plane has the capability of releasing 12,000 gallons of fire retardant in one line without having to reload. The Forest Service doesn’t currently have a contract with the owners until the effectiveness of the plane is proven. The State, who has a call-when-needed contract with the plane’s owner made necessary arrangements for the plane to make the retardant drops since the fire was headed toward State land. According to a Forest Service fire captain, the retardant line from the plane’s retardant release makes it safer to send in hand crews to fight the fire. The Day Fire, as of September 26, was 41 percent contained with 3,525 firefighters. The fire has currently cost $40 million to fight. Use of the DC-10 has received considerable media attention.

LIDAR: A New Technology to Monitor Smoke Plumes: Researchers at the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station are using a new mobile laboratory equipped with a lidar (Light Detecting And Ranging) instrument to study smoke plumes. Lidar measures the optical properties of aerosol particles in real-time over an area of 6 to 12 miles, and is the only instrument capable of obtaining detailed information on smoke characteristics from outside the burning area with complete safety for the personnel involved. Utilizing this technology, station scientists have developed new methods to remotely measure smoke particle properties and plume dynamics in three dimensions. Research results help fire and air quality managers better understand smoke particle properties, smoke plume dynamics, and how adverse effects can be mitigated. Findings are also critical for validating smoke plume heights and dispersion for a variety of smoke dispersion models.

Estimating Soil Erosion and Mitigation Efforts Following Wildfire: Scientists at the Rocky Mountain Research Station, along with the Agricultural Research Service, developed an online program that predicts post-fire erosion called the Erosion Risk Management Tool, or ERMiT. ERMiT incorporates variability into predicting erosion and allows users to estimate the effectiveness of mitigation efforts such as seeding, applying mulch, and installing logs on hill slopes. Risk-based soil erosion modeling is on the cutting edge of erosion prediction, and has been quickly embraced by public land managers. Over 200 public and private specialists have been trained to apply the ERMiT technology in workshops sponsored by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. In 2006, the ERMiT model was run over 1600 times. In the first three weeks of August alone, users from 9 different states on at least 20 fires used ERMiT to support over 150 wildfire impact analyses.

Characterizing Forest Change: The Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station is collaborating with NASA, the University of Maryland, and other researchers to map historical disturbances across the country. These efforts are (1) shedding light on the historical likelihood of disturbance, which is beneficial in planning and managing forests; (2) helping to account for the carbon flux involved with disturbance, which is central to any carbon accounting system -- an important element in global warming predictions; and, (3) helping to understand the history of natural and human-caused disturbance, which is central to characterizing an ecosystem, particularly if that history can be mapped across a landscape. Resulting maps help update habitat or fuel maps, support landscape-level studies, prioritize recovery and rehabilitation efforts, and may open up new perspectives of how disturbance operates in our forests over both time and space.

AND IN THE MEDIA…

Denver Post: On Friday, September 22, the Denver Post published an editorial titled Roadless policy needs a path. No one's quite sure about the precise impact of this week's "roadless" ruling by a federal judge, which would restore broad protections to about a third of national forest land in the lower 48 states. The ruling was favorably received by those who seek to control development on the West's pristine public lands. But we hope it doesn't undo the work of the state commission that developed a smart set of recommendations to provide appropriate safeguards for public lands while still satisfying a variety of environmental, recreational and commercial interests. U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth D. Laporte of San Francisco threw out the Bush administration's roadless program, saying that Washington failed to conduct necessary environmental studies before giving states permission last year to draft their own management guidelines for roads on forest lands. The court ruling came a week after the Colorado Roadless Areas Review Task Force submitted recommendations to Gov. Bill Owens to preserve most of the 4.4 million acres of roadless areas in Colorado's national forests. We agree with Owens, who said, "The bipartisan, collaborative process we have undertaken in Colorado is the appropriate way to determine our state's position concerning roadless areas." But we think he's off base in saying that Laporte is "unilaterally dictating natural-resource policy for the entire country." Her interpretation of the law seems entirely appropriate, but there's little doubt that her ruling will trigger a series of further court reviews, further extending a process that already has dragged on for too long. After years of debate and study, the ban on road construction was adopted by President Clinton shortly before he left office in 2001. Even some supporters saw it as a sloppy piece of work that needed refinement. The Bush administration adopted a new policy in 2005 that rescinded the ban and established a system under which individual forest plans could allow construction on 34 million acres without roads. Laporte's ruling does not choose which policy is best, and the judge affirmed the Forest Service's "authority to change policies from a uniform national approach strongly protecting roadless areas from human encroachment to a more localized approach permitting more roads and logging, providing that it follows the proper procedures." It will benefit Western states if a clear roadless policy is achieved and sensible restrictions such as those developed in Colorado are adopted and implemented. When that will happen, however, is anybody's guess.

Missoulian: On Friday, September 22, the Missoulian published an editorial titled Lessons learned from an unusual fire season. *We still need Smokey Bear. A few years back, with human-caused fires reduced to single-digit percentages, some within the U.S. Forest Service wondered if their fire-prevention bear was due for retirement. Not so, say the early statistics from this summer. At last count, people - not nature - provided the spark that caused 86 percent of the fire starts on the Bitterroot National Forest, and 105 of 154 fires tended by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Some, of course, were arson. But others were of the ilk that Smokey warns against: cigarettes tossed out car windows, campfires left untended, fireworks blasted onto dry hillsides. If only we had all remembered ... * We always need our neighbors. The heroes of fire season 2006 in this part of the world were the initial attack crews that so masterfully extinguished all but a handful of the starts under the worst possible conditions. On evenings when literally dozens of wildfires busted out over hundreds of square miles, firefighters on the ground and in the air managed to douse every single one. They saved homes and crops and timber, possibly even lives. Yes, there were homes lost. And trees and crops. Far greater, though, were the “saves” attributed to those initial attack crews. * We can live with smoke. By necessity, so demanding were wildfires in other states, the Forest Service and state DNRC had to let some of this summer's wildfires in western Montana burn a bit. On the northern edge of Glacier National Park and in the Bitterroot Mountains west of Victor, two fairly substantial wildfires pumped out smoke for weeks until September's rain and snow cooled them. We're not suggesting the smoke was pleasant, or that there weren't complaints or more than a few scratchy eyes and throats. But it seemed like we are all starting to accept smoke and fire as a normal, even necessary, part of summertime in the West. So it is. The forests and hillsides in our backyards were once charred black on a regular basis, swept clean by summer's wildfires. The earliest white settlers in these parts noted time and again how smoky were the summers, but how renewing the fires. So, too, do we seem to be reaching that same conclusion? We live in a place shaped by fire, dependent upon fire, in fact. That doesn't mean should we toss cigarettes out our car windows or abide by those who are careless with fire in the backcountry. But it does mean lightning will strike come summer, wildfires will burn across sometimes-vast acreages and smoke will make some summer days uncomfortable. But our friends and neighbors will help us through, and come September, nature will lend a hand. And we'll all breathe a deep sigh of relief.

Oregonian: On Saturday, September 23, the Oregonian published an article titled Kulongoski joins Biscuit logging fight, written by Michael Milstein. Days after a court decision put remote, undisturbed national forest lands off-limits to logging and development, a new legal skirmish erupted Friday over whether logging can continue on such lands in southwest Oregon. Gov. Ted Kulongoski was on one side, an Oregon timber company on the other. It quickly fulfilled predictions that the Wednesday ruling reinstating 2001 Clinton administration protections for so-called roadless lands would lead to more fighting about the rugged reaches. Logging of timber burned by the 2002 Biscuit fire in the Siskiyou National Forest had already gained national attention as one of the first incursions into roadless lands after the Bush administration dropped the 2001 protections. U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte this week restored the protections and ordered a halt to activities that would have violated them. But she did not explicitly mention the Oregon logging. Bush administration officials said the logging by Silver Creek Timber Co. of Merlin would continue. It has already survived separate court fights on its own, they said. But Kulongoski joined leaders of Washington, California and New Mexico and environmental groups Friday to argue that the Biscuit logging is "illegal and must cease." They asked for an emergency hearing to make their case. Kulongoski has said he wants roadless lands in the state left alone. Silver Creek Timber joined the U.S. Forest Service in taking the other side. They contended in Friday court filings that the logging should continue because it was approved before Laporte's Wednesday ruling. Also Friday, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth directed all agency officials not to approve any new activities that would violate the 2001 roadless rule, in accordance with Laporte's ruling.

New York Times: On Monday, September 25, the New York Times ran an editorial titled The Roadless Rule Takes a New Turn. You have to wonder when the Bush administration is going to stop ramming its head against the same wall on forest policy. The Forest Service has been trying for several years to get rid of the “roadless rule” enacted near the end of the Clinton administration to protect millions of roadless acres of national forest from logging and other commercial intrusions. But these efforts, while popular in the timber industry, achieved little traction in the courts and none among the public at large. So last year the administration simply rescinded the old rule by regulatory fiat and replaced it with a less protective rule of its own. Now that strategy has been derailed, at least for now. Last week Elizabeth LaPorte, a federal district judge in San Francisco, overturned the Bush rule and largely reinstated the Clinton protections. Her most telling argument was that the Forest Service had flat-out failed to observe the regulatory protocols required of such a major rule change, sidestepped the detailed environmental analysis mandated by law and ignored the potential impacts of the new policy on endangered species. The administration is likely to appeal the decision, thus prolonging the tiresome legal Ping-Pong that has marked this battle from the beginning. The Clinton rule has twice been enjoined by district court judges in Idaho and Wyoming in response to state and industry lawsuits, but has been upheld at the appellate level by the Ninth Circuit, to which an appeal from this decision must be directed. It would make more sense for the administration to abandon the fight altogether. The Bush plan’s main claim to superiority is that it gives individual governors more say over the national forests within their boundaries than President Clinton’s “one size fits all” rule.

Great Falls Tribune: On Tuesday, September 26, the Great Falls Tribune published an article titled Mysterious decline of Western aspens perplexes scientists, written by Chase Squires/Sonja Lee. Something is killing the aspen trees of the Rocky Mountain West. Or so it seems to some scientists, who say the slender, white-bark trees that paint the hills gold every autumn are dying, leaving bald patches across the Rockies. They are scrambling to figure out what's happening. "As soon as we understand what's going on, then maybe we can do something about it," said Dale Bartos, a U.S. Forest Service ecologist based in Utah. Bartos thinks a fungus may be to blame, while others suggest such possibilities as hungry caterpillars, drought, human interference with the natural cycle of forest fires, and resurgent herds of hungry elk nibbling saplings to death. Aspen stands have been particularly hard hit in southwestern Colorado, northern Arizona, and parts of Utah and Canada. Montana's aspens also are struggling. "We certainly are seeing some decline, and it is a concern," said Gregg DeNitto, Forest Service group leader for forest health protection in Missoula. The damage in Montana isn't as devastating, partly because Montana doesn't have large expanses of aspens, like those in Colorado. But in areas of Montana the aspen are struggling, he said. DeNitto said some of the decline is related to the age of Montana's aspens. Aspen is a fairly short-lived species, and many are getting old and decadent. Aspen also is susceptible to fungi and decay.

Steve Martin, forest silviculturist for the Lewis and Clark National Forest, said most aspen stands in Montana consist of patches of trees in a conifer forest.

PERSONNEL NEWS…

FLORENCE NAVARRO has accepted the Director for the Civil Rights Staff position in the R-2 Regional office in Golden, CO.

JANE KOLLMEYER has accepted the Forest Supervisor position in R-4 on the Sawtooth National Forest in Twin Falls, ID.

FRANK GUZMAN has accepted the position of Deputy Forest Supervisor in R-4 on the Boise National Forest in Boise, ID.

MICHAEL BALBONI has accepted the position of Deputy Forest Supervisor in R-4 on the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Jackson, WY.

IN THE NEAR FUTURE…

THE DEPUTY CHIEF FOR STATE AND PRIVATE FORESTRY, JIM HUBBARD will be in Sao Paolo, Brazil for the Forest Trends and Katoomba Group Conference for all of next week.

The Chief’s Desk is compiled from input by field units and Washington Office staffs as well as from news articles, newsletters and other sources.