Forests

"For 17 days this spring, Darryl Ivy worked on a crew racing against the clock to spray weed killers on clearcuts in Oregon's forests."

"Amid one the West’s worst droughts in centuries, more than 5,600 wildfires scorched more than 600,000 acres last year in California alone. It could happen again."

"California's drought led to the deaths of 12.5 million trees in the state's forests last year, leaving behind huge amounts of dry fuel that could burn easily as the summer wildfire season begins, the U.S. Forest Service said Monday."

"'Wildfire season' seems to be a thing of the past for drought-stricken California, with fires now raging throughout the year."

"It's Arbor Day, and some arborists in D.C. have a little more work to do thanks to a new website. It's called Get D.C. Trees and makes it easier than ever for residents to request new trees along their neighborhood streets."

"In drought-era California, does 'fire season' mean anything?"

"An iconic Alaska tree may warrant protection as a threatened or endangered species due to climate warming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday."

"The U.S. Forest Service announced it will try to reinstate the exemption to Colorado’s roadless rule that allows coal mines to build roads in protected areas of Western Colorado.  The exemption was struck down last summer by a federal court because the government failed to assess the impact of that future coal mining on climate change."

"RENO, Nev. -- Todd McNeal, chief of Twain Harte Fire and Rescue, spoke before his fellow firefighters and foresters last week with the tone of an evangelist. 'There is fundamental change that has occurred around us,' said McNeal, his voice rising to fill a dimly lit casino resort conference hall."

"A massive die-off of pine trees in the southern Sierra Nevada caused by beetles attacking drought-stressed trees is turning forests brown and creating a fire tinderbox."