Tag Archives: Arizona

Thinning will save millions

Posted on by
1

Arizona Daily Sun 3/1/2013
Excerpt:         “Massive forest restoration efforts expected to start this year on the Coconino and Kaibab national forests are projected to save $100 million in thinning costs plus at least $11.6 million annually in the long run.

The latter is how much the local Forest Service now spends fighting wildfires each year, on average.   In addition, the decade-long thinning project is expected to support 1,674 jobs and $77.6 million in labor-related income annually.     …..”
Read entire article at http://azdailysun.com/news/local/1da77afa-0220-5f9b-8519-0935e1e22c6a.html

Mexican Gray Wolf management plan dropped by feds

Posted on by
Reply

Deming Headlight  2/19/2013
Excerpt:     “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services has withdrawn its proposed plan for managing Mexican Gray Wolves outside of the current protected areas, a move the county was “encouraged” to see after it formed a committee to respond to the plan.

Sheryl Barrett, coordinator for the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, wrote to Luna County manager Kelly Kuenstler last week to inform the county that the department has decided to withdraw the proposed action.   ….”

Read entire article at http://www.demingheadlight.com/deming-news/ci_22621886/mexican-gray-wolf-management-plan-dropped-by-feds?source=rss

Coalition Opposes New “Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2013″

Posted on by
Reply

Northern Miner 2/19/2013
Excerpt:     “AN CARLOS, Ariz., Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Representatives Paul Gosar (R, AZ District 4) and Ann Kirkpatrick (D, AZ District 1) re-introduced the “Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2013,” formerly H.R. 1904 in the 112(th) Congress.

“It is outrageous that members of our Arizona Congressional delegation support a land swap that benefits a foreign mega-mining giant over what’s best for Arizona,” said Terry Rambler, Chairman, San Carlos Apache Tribe.    …”

Read entire article at http://www.northernminer.com/press-releases/story.aspx?id=1002081564

Global warming: Yet another threat to Southwest’s iconic pinyon pine?

Posted on by
Reply

Christian Science Monitor 2/13/203
Excerpt;      “Over the past decade, researchers have documented the increased vulnerability of large stands of a Southwestern forest icon – the pinyon pine – to the dangers associated with a warming climate: drought, insects, and wildfires.

Now, it appears that rising temperatures could also put a damper on pinyon reproduction, potentially limiting the ability of trees that survive the other scourges to recolonize disturbed areas, a recent study says.    …….”
Read entire article at   http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2013/0213/Global-warming-Yet-another-threat-to-Southwest-s-iconic-pinyon-pine

Study Finds Crown Fires Can Permanently Kill Off Forest

Posted on by
Reply

Payson Roundup 2/12/2013
Excerpt:       “The ponderosa pine forests consumed in the most intense portions of the 462,000-acre Rodeo Chediski Fire may never come back, according to a long-term study of the slow, often faltering, effort of the forest to repair the damage from the massive blaze.

The researchers spent years comparing two, adjacent, 60-acre patches of forest — one consumed by a crown fire that killed almost every single tree and a second that suffered only moderate fire damage that ultimately killed only about 15 percent of the trees.  …”

Read entire article at http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2013/feb/12/study-finds-crown-fires-can-permanently-kill-fores/

Tonto Forest Plans Study Of Impact Of Closing Roads

Posted on by
Reply

Payson Roundup 2/5/2013
Excerpt:        “After a three-year delay, the Tonto National Forest last week decided to undertake a full-fledged Environmental Impact Statement before deciding which roads to close in a vast network that includes some 5,400 miles of dirt roads in the 3-million-acre forest.

The decision could stall adoption of a plan by a year or more and drew complaints by some off-road users and praise from environmental groups.  ….”

Read entire story at http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2013/feb/05/tonto-forest-plans-study-impact-closing-roads/

Arizona’s Tonto National Forest Road Plan to Face Full Environmental Review

Posted on by
Reply

Center for Biological Diversity News Release 2/1/2013
Excerpt:      “PHOENIX— In a dramatic about-face, Tonto National Forest officials today announced they will develop an in-depth “environmental impact statement” to analyze how their travel-management plan will affect wildlife, water, air and other natural resources. The agency had previously attempted to use a less-thorough “environmental assessment” to approve the plan, which will designate more than 3,000 miles of roads and trails for motorized uses.

Read entire news release at http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2013/tonto-national-forest-02-01-2013.html

Sewer Snow on Sacred Mountain May Show Skiing’s Future

Posted on by
Reply

Bloomberg News 1/30/2013
Excerpt:    “After decades of unpredictable ski seasons that lasted as little as four days, the Arizona Snowbowl resort took a bold step last month: It started ensuring a reliable supply of snow by using water recycled from sewage.

The ski area near Flagstaff is the first in the U.S. to make snow entirely from treated effluent — something that could become more widespread as facilities across the country confront drought, future water restrictions and climate change.   …..”

Read entire article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-30/sewer-snow-on-sacred-mountain-may-show-skiing-s-future.html

Logging Project Weighed Goshawk, Judge Finds

Posted on by
Reply

Courthouse News Service 1/29/2013
Excerpt:        “PRESCOTT, Ariz. (CN) – Concerns for a population of northern goshawk that dwell near the Grand Canyon cannot upend a logging project, a federal judge ruled.
The Jacob-Ryan Vegetation Management Project will burn and thin of about 25,000 acres of ponderosa pines in the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona, where goshawks abound.
In a federal complaint, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club took issue with changes in the way the Forest Service will measure forest canopy cover.   ….”

Read entire article at http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/01/29/54372.htm

How Climate Change Could Wipe Out the Western Forests

Posted on by
Reply

The Atlantic; 1/24/2013
Excerpt:       “If current trends continue, the landscapes of states like New Mexico and Arizona may soon be unrecognizable. ”

The fire that burned through Forest Canyon, a breathtaking stretch of wilderness ringed by snowy peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, started in October and burned long past the end of the fire season. Trees still smoldered in late December, and the smoke mixed with dry snow blowing in the air. Known as the Fern Lake Fire, the blaze tore through 3,500 acres of land the federal government set aside a century ago both to provide public enjoyment and protect it from human destruction.   ……”

Read entire article at http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/01/how-climate-change-could-wipe-out-the-western-forests/267457/