Many people are wondering whether this summer will bring weeks of smoke and more communities threatened by large fires burning across western Oregon. Those concerns are growing as drought conditions deepen across the state and snowpack levels are far below normal, with state officials warning that wildfire season could start early and continue deep into the fall.
The conditions surrounding many federal forests in western Oregon are adding to those concerns. The 2020 Labor Day Fires exposed how vulnerable many local Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands have become after decades of declining management. Less management has translated to far more fuel loading in our forests, which allows fires to burn hotter and spread faster during dry conditions.
That matters because much of the landscape surrounding our communities is federally managed forestland. The Forest Service manages one million acres and the BLM manages close to 300,000 acres in Lane County alone.
Reducing the ‘fuel’
Many federal forests across western Oregon have gone decades without enough proactive, science-based forest management work including thinning, harvesting, prescribed burning, and fuels reduction. Over time, forests have become overcrowded, drought stress has weakened trees, and dead wood has accumulated across the landscape. Those conditions create heavy fuel loads that make fires more intense, more difficult to control, and more dangerous for firefighters and the public.
The challenge is rooted in a simple reality about wildfire. Fire needs heat, oxygen, fuel, and an ignition source. We cannot prevent lightning strikes, extreme heat, wind, or prolonged drought during fire season. The one factor we can influence is fuel. When vegetation continues to build up year after year without proactive management and removal, wildfire intensity increases and suppression becomes far more difficult.
Reducing those fuel loads requires people, equipment, and infrastructure on the ground. Yet the infrastructure needed to manage these forests is vulnerable. Federal timber harvest levels dropped by 80 percent in western Oregon over the past several decades, and many local mills and logging contractors disappeared along with them. As that workforce and infrastructure shrank, the pace of proactive forest management slowed as well.
That loss of infrastructure also affects wildfire response itself. Local logging contractors and timber workers are often among the first people called when large fires break out. They help spot fires, build fire lines, operate heavy equipment, reopen roads, and support firefighters during major incidents.
Local mills are essential wildfire prevention infrastructure because they provide the capacity to process the wood removed during forest projects. Without an outlet and markets for the biomass removed from federal forests, thinning and fuel reduction work would be logistically and financially impossible.
Potential progress ahead
The barriers to active forest management are well known. Current federal law and regulations prohibit active management on a majority of federal forestland. Projects to reduce wildfire risks on federal lands often take years to plan and approve through a maze of laws and regulations. Even approved forest projects face legal challenges that cost the taxpayer and forest managers time and money.
These barriers must be addressed by Congress. Yet there are signs that federal agencies are beginning to move in a more positive direction.
The Forest Service and BLM have been directed to increase active management activities over the coming years. Federal agencies are also placing greater emphasis on reducing hazardous fuels and improving wildfire response. The progress will take time, but there is growing bipartisan recognition by policymakers and the public that current conditions are unsustainable.
Forestry professionals need the ability to thin overly dense stands and remove dead and dying trees before wildfire reaches them. Agencies also need to maintain access so firefighters can respond quickly when fires start. This workforce and infrastructure needs to be supported and strengthened.
‘Common goals and values’
Active forest management supports healthier forests and safer communities. It helps protect drinking water, air quality, wildlife and fish habitat, recreation, and rural jobs. Forests that are actively managed are more resilient to drought, insects, disease, and wildfire. These are common goals and values for most Lane County residents.
We cannot control the dry conditions, heat, or lightning strikes this summer. We can decide whether our forests and communities are prepared for fire when it arrives through intentional, science-based, place-based active management.
Springfield resident Travis Joseph is president & CEO of the American Forest Resource Council.
