Subduction Zone

Northwest Dealings

Category: Ecology

Forests Practices / Oregon

Circular Fire Arguments

The Eugene  Register-Guard editorial board discussed the impact of forest fire suppression on the Oregon State budget and some mechanisms for mitigating this impact. No surprise that this is their big suggestion: A longer-term approach would be to address a primary reason firefighting costs are so high — the buildup of flammable material in many forests. Thinning, but so is fighting fires. Sorry, the buildup of flammable materials is not primary. First, the high cost of firefighting is due entirely to the fact that they fight the fires. Many years of unnecessary suppression is the prime reason for the buildup of...

Ecology / Economics / Government / Taxation / Washington

They Can Build Their Own

It is rare that the national park service proposes to do something close to the right thing: The National Park Service has proposed turning a washed-out road in north-central Washington’s upper Stehekin Valley into a trail for hikers and horseback riders Buy Amoxil UK , but the idea is meeting opposition from residents of the rural community. As you might expect there are those that think this road should be rebuilt: Already, some residents are finding fault with the preferred alternative. Members of the community group Stehekin Heritage say none of the four alternatives is viable. In addition, the preferred...

British Columbia / California / Ecology / Idaho / Montana / Oregon / Washington / Wyoming

Short on Water?

The Oregon State University Extension Service has put up a new site called Drought in Oregon with a bunch of informative links In this new website, the OSU Extension Service has compiled publications and information to help Oregonians cope with water shortages at home, in the garden and on the farm. This is targeted at Oregon residents but there is information that will be useful throughout the region this summer. For those of you who want state specific material here are a few more links: Washington State University Drought Alert Washington Department of Ecology: 2005 Drought University of Idaho: Drought...