With the release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan this summer, states are looking for new ways to reduce carbon emissions and identify carbon neutral power sources. In Arizona, reduction of coal usage and an increase in natural gas usage has been one of many considerations on Read more…
When a forest fire occurs, the damage it causes is widespread. This is the first part of a three part series examining the effects forest fires have on smoke and ozone, water, and the land. For more information, please contact Emily Rice at [email protected]. Where there is fire, there is Read more…
With June nearly over and Arizona’s infamous summer heat fully settled over the Valley, Arizonans have a number of reasons to celebrate the slower than normal approach of summer. After the second wettest May in state history, Arizona faced a delayed start to its fire season. Whereas fire season typically begins Read more…
In 2004, the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests embarked on a first-of-its-kind venture, developing the White Mountain Stewardship Project (the “Project”), a ten-year contract to thin 150,000 acres of forest, removing primarily small-diameter ponderosa pine trees that clogged the forest due to past mismanagement. The contract was awarded to Future Forests, LLC, Read more…
In Eagar, AZ there is a mill. It’s a small mill, with 18 full time jobs. It is supported by around 30-40 logging jobs. About 25 truckloads of logs go through the mill each shift, creating 10 loads of lumber, 10 loads of chips, and 1.5 loads of bark. On Read more…
PHOENIX, Ariz. (September 11, 2014) – In towns like Eagar, AZ every job counts. With the closure of the Four Corners Forest Products in mid-August, more members of the small community will be facing unemployment. “It’s frustrating,” said Kurtis Vaagen, owner of the mill. “We’ve been working hard to help Read more…
We payed tribute to the 19 brave Granite Mountain Hotshots this week, and firefighters are optimistic about the San Juan Fire. However, dry summer weather conditions and overgrown forests are still a concern this fire season. In early May, Governor Brewer signed HB2343, now called forest health management, to drastically reduce Read more…
Russell D. Smoldon discusses forest health management and the work that needs to be done to clean the forests and prevent catastrophic forest fires. A clean forest is a healthy forest; a healthy forest is a healthy watershed. Everyone benefits from a healthy forest system.
Arizona faces a recurring threat each year as temperatures rise and the threat of wildfires grows. To combat this threat, Arizona is embarking on the largest stewardship contract in the country, the Four Forest Restoration, or 4FRI. As a part of 4FRI, small diameter trees are thinned to reduce the Read more…