March 17, 2023 HFHC News Round Up 

Biden Plans to Name Nevada’s Spirit Mountain Area a National Monument (The New York Times)
President Biden plans next week to designate nearly a half-million acres of the Spirit Mountain area in southern Nevada as a national monument, according to two people familiar with the matter,  protecting some of the most biologically diverse and culturally significant lands in the Mojave Desert. The area, also known by the Mojave name Avi Kwa Ame, represents the largest such monument that Mr. Biden has designated to date. But it could also put some of the most potentially productive land in Nevada off limits to wind and solar projects.

RMEF talks Farm Bill, forest management at roundtable (RMEF)
What do America’s farmers have in common with elk? Plenty. And that’s why the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation pulls up a chair when the 2023 Farm Bill is the topic of discussion. In February, that was the topic in Washington D.C. One month later, it came up again 2,100 miles to the west in southwest Montana. RMEF participated in a Farm Bill roundtable at the Arthur H. Post Farm, a Montana State University research facility, along with Sen. Mike Daines (R-MT), his staffers, ranchers and others interested in farming and conservation. The legislation is set to expire in 2023 and Congress is working on a renewal bill, which it does every five years.

BLM seeks public comment on tree thinning project on Emerald Mountain (Steamboat Pilot)
Resource specialists from the Bureau of Land Management will be conducting an environmental review of 525 acres of land on the south and west sides of Emerald Mountain near Steamboat Springs prior to a planned tree thinning and forest health project later this year. BLM Recreation Program Park Ranger Gary Keeling in Craig said one reason for the proposed work is the safety of recreationists from possible falling trees in an area that has been hard hit by beetle infestations. “Use of the area for recreation is being negatively impacted by dead and down timber, and the density of dead and diseased trees is increasing the risk of severe and intense fire adjacent to residential and urban communities,” according to the BLM presentation at a public meeting on Feb. 16.

Judge dismisses suit against Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest travel plan (Independent Record)
A federal judge has dismissed a challenge to the U.S. Forest Service’s Divide Travel Plan for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris found March 10 the U.S. Forest Service and Helena Hunters have established as a matter of law that U.S. Forest Service complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in adopting the travel plan in 2016 for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.

Thinning plan for Los Padres heading to federal court (Acorn)
Environmental groups and local governments are asking a federal judge to block a fire management proposal in Los Padres National Forest until an environmental study is completed. The Reyes Peak Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Project was approved in September 2021 by district Ranger Karina Medina of the Mount Pinos Ranger District. It covers about 755 acres of Pine Mountain near the Sespe, Matilija and Dick Smith wilderness areas. The region has seen many wildfires, and the project involves logging some of the biggest and oldest trees to make the area less susceptible to major fire damage.

CBS News Colorado hosts Community Conversation about the Marshall Fire on Friday (CBS News)
This Friday, CBS News Colorado hosts a Community Conversation about the Marshall Fire. Nearly 15 months after the most devastating wildfire in Colorado history, join our elected representatives for a conversation about where we are now, what we did wrong and what's ahead.

Environmental Group Threatens Lawsuit To Stop Wyoming Hunters Killing Colorado Wolves (Cowboy State Daily)
Wolves that cross the border from Colorado into Wyoming may be shot on sight, and it’s up to the U.S. Forest Service to stop it, an environmental group claims. The Center For Biological Diversity plans to file a lawsuit against the Forest Service in U.S. District Court unless the agency steps up to protect the wolves. That’s what the group claims in a letter sent to USFS and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials. The Forest Service falls under the USDA’s jurisdiction. 

Revolt at Audubon as 3 board members resign (E&E)
Three members of the National Audubon Society’s board of directors resigned Wednesday in response to the conservation group’s announcement that it will retain its current name tied to the enslaver and bird artist, John James Audubon. The national conservation organization is facing an internal backlash after publicly announcing that its board of directors decided to keep its current name after a yearlong deliberation. The decision outraged employees, prompted an uncomfortable all-staff meeting and drove three board members to resign in protest. Stephen Tan, a vice chair of Audubon’s board, and two other board members — Sara Fuentes and Erin Giese — resigned over the decision, according to a person who was informed about the resignations and was granted anonymity to discuss personnel moves that haven’t been publicly announced. (Subscription Required)

State’s needlessly restrictive CO2 law drives prices up (Washington Policy Center)
Washington state residents are likely to see another increase in the cost of gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and other CO2-emitting fuels after the results of the first auction of CO2 allowances was announced yesterday. The price is significantly higher than in California, meaning it costs us more to reduce the same amount of CO2. It doesn’t have to be like this. There are ways we can effectively cut CO2 emissions at much lower cost but those options have largely been ruled out in favor of raising tax revenue for the state. The Washington State Department of Ecology released the results of the first auction of CO2 allowances and the average price was $48.50 per metric ton of CO2. This equates to about 39 cents per gallon of gasoline and 47 cents per gallon of diesel.

House passes Tharinger bill on biomass, hog fuel, and clean energy (Newswires)
Legislation by Rep. Steve Tharinger (D-Port Townsend) will boost local jobs and clean energy in the 24th District and throughout Washington state. “Hog fuel—also known as wood waste —is a sustainable and renewable resource,” Tharinger said. “It used to be burned or put in landfills, and this legislation is necessary to make it economically viable as clean power. Biomass generators are another building block to make timber and farm operations profitable and sustainable.” 

NWAA Launches Grassroots Campaign Spotlighting Damage Done by DNR Commissioner Hilary Franz’s Political Decision to End Commercial Net Pen Fish Farming In Washington (AccessWire)
In a new campaign launched today, Washington fish farming workers, who have grown affordable, high-quality fish in Puget Sound for over 40 years, are speaking out for the first time to expose the pain they and their families have endured as the result of DNR Commissioner Hilary Franz's unilateral and unscientific decision to ban fish farming in state waters.

Deforestation 'fast outstripping' regrowth, say Bristol scientists (BBC)
Recovering tropical forests offset just a quarter of carbon emissions generated each year by logging, wildfire and land clearing, new research has found. The study, led by University of Bristol scientists, found destruction of these ecosystems currently far outstripped the pace of regrowth. Working with an international team, they used satellite data to study the world's three largest tropical forests. They hope it can inform decisions about protecting these areas.

Home construction unexpectedly surged in February as slump in lumber prices offset pain of rising mortgage rates (Business Insider)
Lumber prices jumped Thursday following data showing housing starts on single-family and multi-family homes surged 9.8% last month to 1.45 million units on a seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to data from the Census Bureau. The result overshot median projections of 1.31 million units in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Lumber prices rose 5.8% to $438.60 per thousand board feet.

Rayonier Offers a Detailed Look Into Sustainable Forestry (Accesswire)
There's no doubt that forests are one of the most important resources on earth. But can working forests-where trees are planted and later harvested for their timber-provide the same environmental benefits as a wild forest? And can an operation that includes the removal of trees from the land be considered sustainable? Thanks to sustainable forest management practices, working forests play an extremely important role in protecting and preserving the environment. These practices are designed to maintain and protect forests for generations to come. In this article, we're going to look at what it means to sustainably manage a forest, why it's important and how it impacts the environment.

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