Plans for an Ailing Forest Include Logging. Environmentalists Object.
An Oregon Forest Is in Trouble. Part of the Response: Logging. The New York Times
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Officials in Oregon Face Complex Land Management Challenges as Forest Health Declines
Officials in Oregon say they need to cut trees, including some healthy ones. The reaction shows how complex land management has become as forest health declines.
Across a patch of the Pacific Northwest, one of North America’s most important tree species is dying at an alarming rate. This spring, as in the past several years, the needles on Douglas firs are yellowing, turning red and then dropping to the ground in forests across southwestern Oregon.
Experts blame a combination of factors, including insect attacks, drought and increased temperatures caused by climate change. Decades of fire suppression have exacerbated problems by disrupting the natural balance of ecosystems.
“The droughts and heat and climate change are killing trees widely, and there’s no clear way to put that genie back in the bottle,” said Rob Jackson, an ecologist at the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University who is researching the ways climate change affects forests and grasslands. “We are priming our forests to die.”
The crisis in Oregon shows the critical importance of forest management as climate change alters the natural world. Foresters say that, in many cases, they need to cut down Douglas firs, whether dead or alive, in order to minimize wildfire risk, promote forest health and help ecosystems adapt to the shifting climate. Their plans include selling some salvageable timber.
But those plans have touched a raw nerve with some environmentalists, who distrust government agencies and accuse them of favoring logging over conservation.
“I understand why environmental groups are suspicious, and they should be,” said Mindy Crandall, an associate professor of forest policy at Oregon State University. The federal agencies “didn’t listen to society for a little bit too long.”
The Decline of Douglas Firs in the Pacific Northwest
Controversy Surrounding Forest Management Plans
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
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SDGs addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article:
- SDG 13: Climate Action
- SDG 15: Life on Land
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Specific targets under those SDGs based on the article’s content:
- SDG 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
- SDG 15.2: Promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally
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Indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:
- Number of healthy Douglas firs in the Pacific Northwest
- Extent of yellowing, redness, and dropping of Douglas fir needles
- Frequency and intensity of insect attacks on Douglas firs
- Extent of drought conditions in forested areas
- Temperature increase in forested areas due to climate change
- Extent of disruption to natural balance of ecosystems caused by fire suppression
- Number of Douglas firs cut down for wildfire risk reduction and forest health promotion
- Amount of salvageable timber sold
- Public trust and perception of government agencies’ forest management plans
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 13: Climate Action | SDG 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters |
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| SDG 15: Life on Land | SDG 15.2: Promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally |
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Fuente: nytimes.com
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