Evan Frost
@wildwoods.bsky.social
Terrestrial-Fire-Forest Ecologist, Conservation Scientist and Principal - Wildwood Consulting LLC. Working on land stewardship projects throughout the Pacific West.
And the author utterly fails to mention that the biggest loss of mature/old ponderosa pines in the West has not been due to climate change or fire suppression -- but logging. which BTW also increases subsequent fire hazard.
October 17, 2025 at 12:06 AM
And the author utterly fails to mention that the biggest loss of mature/old ponderosa pines in the West has not been due to climate change or fire suppression -- but logging. which BTW also increases subsequent fire hazard.
I'm very glad you're writing this, and hope there are lots of good forest examples.
October 9, 2025 at 12:50 AM
I'm very glad you're writing this, and hope there are lots of good forest examples.
California's eastern Sierra in fall splendor, happening now. #ForestFriday
October 3, 2025 at 7:01 PM
California's eastern Sierra in fall splendor, happening now. #ForestFriday
As you say Lyle, >95% of western larch forests have been lost, and nobody around now has much of an idea what they were like before logging. But we know the species is very long lived, at least up to 1,000 yrs old and growing over 9' diameter. Just a few exemplars of their real potential remain.
September 28, 2025 at 11:31 PM
As you say Lyle, >95% of western larch forests have been lost, and nobody around now has much of an idea what they were like before logging. But we know the species is very long lived, at least up to 1,000 yrs old and growing over 9' diameter. Just a few exemplars of their real potential remain.
"This morning Medford District BLM excluded the public & the press from attending auction of the 'Take a Chance' old-growth timber sale located in the Cascade Mtns of s Oregon. Federal agencies are now handing over our forests to the timber industry behind locked doors. (from K-S Wild)
September 26, 2025 at 4:33 AM
"This morning Medford District BLM excluded the public & the press from attending auction of the 'Take a Chance' old-growth timber sale located in the Cascade Mtns of s Oregon. Federal agencies are now handing over our forests to the timber industry behind locked doors. (from K-S Wild)
It looks like worst case scenario is unfolding on Garnet fire, which has burned through >1/2 of the Teakettle Forest -- one of the last remaining blocks of green, old-growth forest in the s Sierra. Reports are that much of fire behavior has been high intensity, & chances are entire area will burn. 🌏
September 2, 2025 at 5:06 PM
It looks like worst case scenario is unfolding on Garnet fire, which has burned through >1/2 of the Teakettle Forest -- one of the last remaining blocks of green, old-growth forest in the s Sierra. Reports are that much of fire behavior has been high intensity, & chances are entire area will burn. 🌏
But hey, maybe you want to argue that current fire hazard in a landscape like this (Siskiyou Co, CA) is determined more by historic fire suppression than timber mgmt? LoL. Millions of acres in the West look like this.
September 2, 2025 at 5:46 AM
But hey, maybe you want to argue that current fire hazard in a landscape like this (Siskiyou Co, CA) is determined more by historic fire suppression than timber mgmt? LoL. Millions of acres in the West look like this.
A couple miles nw of the Teakettle Forest is the Mckinley Grove of giant sequoias. Depending on behavior of fire when it reaches this area, we could see significant impacts to this grove in a few days. Larger sequoias here are up to 1,500 yrs old.
August 28, 2025 at 6:31 PM
A couple miles nw of the Teakettle Forest is the Mckinley Grove of giant sequoias. Depending on behavior of fire when it reaches this area, we could see significant impacts to this grove in a few days. Larger sequoias here are up to 1,500 yrs old.
Another noteworthy point is that Garnet fire established & grew considerably within footprint of 2 previous burn scars, 2024 Basin fire and 2015 Rough fire. So even with <10 yrs of post-fire veg. growth, more than enough fuel to facilitate large fire growth. Fuels are not the primary driver here.
August 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Another noteworthy point is that Garnet fire established & grew considerably within footprint of 2 previous burn scars, 2024 Basin fire and 2015 Rough fire. So even with <10 yrs of post-fire veg. growth, more than enough fuel to facilitate large fire growth. Fuels are not the primary driver here.
Flanked by 2020 Creek fire & 2015 Rough fire, the #garnetfire now cooking on the Sierra NF is entering the last large block of green/recently unburned forest (yellow polygon) in the southern Sierra. At risk is Teakettle Experimental Forest, a critical research site dominated by old-growth forest. 🌍🔥
August 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Flanked by 2020 Creek fire & 2015 Rough fire, the #garnetfire now cooking on the Sierra NF is entering the last large block of green/recently unburned forest (yellow polygon) in the southern Sierra. At risk is Teakettle Experimental Forest, a critical research site dominated by old-growth forest. 🌍🔥
"Before it dies, a 500-yr old Douglas-fir will send its storehouse of chemicals down into roots & thru fungal partners, donating its riches to the community in a last will & testament. We might well call these ancient benefactors giving trees."
~Richard Powers #ThickTrunkTuesday
~Richard Powers #ThickTrunkTuesday
August 27, 2025 at 4:18 AM
"Before it dies, a 500-yr old Douglas-fir will send its storehouse of chemicals down into roots & thru fungal partners, donating its riches to the community in a last will & testament. We might well call these ancient benefactors giving trees."
~Richard Powers #ThickTrunkTuesday
~Richard Powers #ThickTrunkTuesday
"Must we not say it was the tree that gave life to man? Anyway, it was under those ancient boughs that he first appeared. And having appeared, he was destined to interfere...The very forests were doomed." ~John Stewart Collis (The Triumph of the Tree, 1950) #ThicktTunkTuesday
August 27, 2025 at 4:14 AM
"Must we not say it was the tree that gave life to man? Anyway, it was under those ancient boughs that he first appeared. And having appeared, he was destined to interfere...The very forests were doomed." ~John Stewart Collis (The Triumph of the Tree, 1950) #ThicktTunkTuesday
"In the woods, we return to reason & faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me, no calamity, which Nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, the currents of the Universal Being circulate thru me; I am part or particle of God." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson #ForestFriday
August 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
"In the woods, we return to reason & faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me, no calamity, which Nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, the currents of the Universal Being circulate thru me; I am part or particle of God." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson #ForestFriday
"Perhaps the most striking aspect of our depredations against the forest has been the confident arrogance with which we do it, and the consistent regularity with which we discover we were utterly wrong." ~Chris Maser (retired USFS/BLM forest ecologist) #ForestFriday
August 22, 2025 at 7:58 PM
"Perhaps the most striking aspect of our depredations against the forest has been the confident arrogance with which we do it, and the consistent regularity with which we discover we were utterly wrong." ~Chris Maser (retired USFS/BLM forest ecologist) #ForestFriday
Not surprisingly, many thousands of acres of SPI's lands have burned very intensively in recently wildfires, and likely also helped spread severe wildfire behavior onto adjacent federal lands. One of many examples of this is on the 2024 Park Fire in Butte County, CA. /13
August 22, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Not surprisingly, many thousands of acres of SPI's lands have burned very intensively in recently wildfires, and likely also helped spread severe wildfire behavior onto adjacent federal lands. One of many examples of this is on the 2024 Park Fire in Butte County, CA. /13
Unfortunately, both industrial timberland owners & federal mgmt agencies are still doing the opposite of what would help move forests into a more fire-safe condition. For ex. in California, Sierra Pacific Industries' lands are managed very intensively on short rotations across millions of acres. /12
August 22, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Unfortunately, both industrial timberland owners & federal mgmt agencies are still doing the opposite of what would help move forests into a more fire-safe condition. For ex. in California, Sierra Pacific Industries' lands are managed very intensively on short rotations across millions of acres. /12
The reality is if we're serious about restoring western forest ecosystems, we need to align timber mgmt practices w/what we know about the ecology of fire & forest dynamics. Plain & simple - even-aged logging & removal of large/old trees are *incompatible* w/creating more fire-resilient forests. 11/
August 22, 2025 at 4:31 AM
The reality is if we're serious about restoring western forest ecosystems, we need to align timber mgmt practices w/what we know about the ecology of fire & forest dynamics. Plain & simple - even-aged logging & removal of large/old trees are *incompatible* w/creating more fire-resilient forests. 11/
In fact, most logging on both public & private land continues to focus on overstory tree removal, running contrary to what we know about how to create fire-resilient forests.Timber sales on BLM & USFS lands (here in s OR & CA) are still commonly removing large numbers of old/fire-resistant trees. /9
August 22, 2025 at 4:31 AM
In fact, most logging on both public & private land continues to focus on overstory tree removal, running contrary to what we know about how to create fire-resilient forests.Timber sales on BLM & USFS lands (here in s OR & CA) are still commonly removing large numbers of old/fire-resistant trees. /9
Forests previously dominated by large/old, fire-resilient conifers have almost completely been replaced by younger, denser, more homogeneous stands of less fire-tolerant trees that exhibit more continuous fuels, higher rates of fire spread & are therefore vulnerable to more severe fire effects. /5
August 22, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Forests previously dominated by large/old, fire-resilient conifers have almost completely been replaced by younger, denser, more homogeneous stands of less fire-tolerant trees that exhibit more continuous fuels, higher rates of fire spread & are therefore vulnerable to more severe fire effects. /5
It is well-documented that logging has resulted in the widespread and dramatic loss of large/old conifers in most western forests -- these trees are far and away the most resistant to fire and historically comprised the "living foundation" of forests that were very resilient to fire effects. /4
August 22, 2025 at 4:31 AM
It is well-documented that logging has resulted in the widespread and dramatic loss of large/old conifers in most western forests -- these trees are far and away the most resistant to fire and historically comprised the "living foundation" of forests that were very resilient to fire effects. /4
What they almost always fail to mention is the role that commercial logging plays in creating today's more fire-vulnerable forests. This is important because if we don’t understand the main factors contributing to undesirable fire effects, we’re unlikely to choose the best policy path forward. /3
August 22, 2025 at 4:31 AM
What they almost always fail to mention is the role that commercial logging plays in creating today's more fire-vulnerable forests. This is important because if we don’t understand the main factors contributing to undesirable fire effects, we’re unlikely to choose the best policy path forward. /3
There’s something inaccurate and grossly misleading about a lot of media coverage on western forests & wildfires. Many articles mention the end of Indigenous mgmt, fire suppression & climate change as factors responsible for the recent massive uptick in fires -- all true, but... /2
August 22, 2025 at 4:31 AM
There’s something inaccurate and grossly misleading about a lot of media coverage on western forests & wildfires. Many articles mention the end of Indigenous mgmt, fire suppression & climate change as factors responsible for the recent massive uptick in fires -- all true, but... /2
"This great tree is a unique assembly of life that took a billion years to evolve. It has eaten the storms, folded them into its genes, and created the world that created us. It holds the world steady." ~E.O. Wilson #ThickTrunkTuesday
August 19, 2025 at 7:24 PM
"This great tree is a unique assembly of life that took a billion years to evolve. It has eaten the storms, folded them into its genes, and created the world that created us. It holds the world steady." ~E.O. Wilson #ThickTrunkTuesday
"For a naturalist, a lifetime of discovery and study could be spent in a Magellanic voyage around the trunk of a single tree." ~E. O. Wilson #ThickTrunkTuesday
August 19, 2025 at 7:19 PM
"For a naturalist, a lifetime of discovery and study could be spent in a Magellanic voyage around the trunk of a single tree." ~E. O. Wilson #ThickTrunkTuesday
"Foresters always hoped they could engineer the forest to produce what people want, but forests are far too complex for this...When we manage ecosystems, all we are really doing is tinkering with processes we are just beginning to understand." ~Nancy Langston #ForestFriday
August 16, 2025 at 1:26 AM
"Foresters always hoped they could engineer the forest to produce what people want, but forests are far too complex for this...When we manage ecosystems, all we are really doing is tinkering with processes we are just beginning to understand." ~Nancy Langston #ForestFriday