The changing face of our forests - bark beetle and global warming

This is an article I wrote for the Four Corners Free Press out of Cortez, Colorado.  

It's the culmination of my day listening in on the "San Juan Bark Beetles and Watersheds Workshop" {which was organized by the Western Water Assessment and Mountain Studies Institute} plus discussions with some participants.

In particular, I thank Mike Blakeman from the Rio Grande National Forest.  Although Mike was a spectator, he has a scientific background and has a long standing familiarity with the developing scientific understanding.  He spent a good deal of time clarifying and offering further details, not all of which made it into this essay.  

Of course, any errors are mine alone and I will gladly fix any that are pointed out to me.  At the end of this essay I include links to authoritative information sources.

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Have you ever driven over Wolf Creek Pass, the one in southern Colorado straddling the Great Divide? At 10,857 ft. elevation, it's an example of America at its most magnificent; with high mountains and spruce forests stretching out in every direction.

April 2013 - Village At Wolf Creek EIS Update...

I had the opportunity to see Mike Blakeman while attending the Bark Beetle Workshop in Durango, he explained to me where the EIS process for the Wolf Creek Village was at and about the next steps in this process.  

It's fairly complicated and I asked if he might be able to send me an email outlining what he'd told me.  
Mr. Blakeman went me one better and had a Forest Service wildlife biologist do a detailed write-up.

Below I include Mike's cover letter along with the write-up.

================================================

Hi Peter, Below is a detailed write-up about the BA/BO process written by our wildlife biologist. People would never get to read such a thorough explanation in mainstream media, so feel free to post it on your blog if you feel it would be beneficial.  

To summarize the targeted timeline (something could always impact this): Biological Assessment completed on May 1. Fish and Wildlife Service reviews the Biological Assessment (BA) (90 days) and then completes a Biological Opinion (BO) (45 days), which puts us at about mid-September. The land exchange Final (Wolf Creek Village) Environmental Impact Statement and record of decision would most likely come out sometime in the autumn or early winter. 

A citizen's review of the "San Juan Bark Beetles and Watersheds Workshop"

I was able to attend the 
"San Juan Bark Beetles and Watersheds Workshop"
highlighted in my previous post.  It was a cooperative effort between 
the Western Water Assessment (WWA), 
the Mountain Studies Institute (MSI), 
the San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, and 
the U.S. Forest Service 
for "exploring the water-related impacts of bark beetle infestations in the San Juans and the Rocky Mountain West."

The goals were:

• Share key findings and uncertainties from beetle-water research in Colorado and elsewhere in the West, and describe ongoing studies
• Seek input from resource managers on the Western Slope about their water/watershed concerns and information needs related to ongoing beetle infestations, particularly the spruce beetle infestation
• Help connect decision-makers with researchers and information resources

"San Juan Bark Beetles and Watersheds Workshop" 

http://wwa.colorado.edu/events/workshops/beetle-water-Durango.html 

http://wwa.colorado.edu/resources/beetle/index.html

http://www.fs.fed.us/ccrc/topics/bark-beetles.shtml 

http://mountainstudies.org 

The workshop was tailored for land managers and other professionals, but the public was invited and a few of us showed up to learn about what scientists were saying regarding the bark beetle epidemic raging throughout the Rocky Mountains... and in fact, throughout mountain forests everywhere.

San Juan Bark Beetles and Watersheds Workshop - 4/10/2013

I received the following email from the Mountain Studies Institute today and thought I'd pass it along:

San Juan Bark Beetles and Watersheds Workshop

Please join the Western Water Assessment (WWA), the Mountain Studies Institute (MSI), and the San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership for a workshop exploring the water-related impacts of bark beetle infestations in the San Juans and the Rocky Mountain West. 

The goals of the workshop are to:

·         Share key findings and uncertainties from beetle-water research in Colorado and elsewhere in the West, and describe ongoing studies
·         Seek input from resource managers on the Western Slope about their water/watershed concerns and information needs related to ongoing beetle infestations
·         Help connect decision-makers with researchers and information resources

Water managers, forest managers, other decision-makers, researchers, and anyone with an interest in the topic are encouraged to attend. 

Please REGISTER HERE by April 1.  There is no cost for the workshop, but space is limited.

Details

Date: 

 Wed, 04/10/2013

Time: 

 9:00am - 3:30pm

Location: 

 Durango Public Library

Cost: 

 $0.00

Event Type: 

 Workshop

Link: 

 San Juan Bark Beetles and Watersheds Workshop

Contact: 

 info@moutnainstudies.org or 970-387-5161

Other Info: 

REGISTER HERE

January 30 2013 - Village At Wolf Creek EIS Update

Out of curiosity I wrote Mike Blakeman the Public Affairs Officer at the Rio Grande National Forest asking him how the Village at Wolf Creek Environmental Impact Statement was progressing.  He replied with the following, which I pass along with his blessing:

Quite frankly, we aren’t sure when the Village EIS will be completed because the proponent and the Fish and Wildlife Service are negotiating the conservation measures that will address the anticipated adverse effects to the lynx.  

Once agreed upon, these will be incorporated into a final Biological Assessment, which is part of the analysis of effects in compliance with the Endangered Species Act.  

Once this BA is finalized, the FWS uses it to complete a Biological Opinion, which we must have before making a decision about the proposed land exchange.  

What is important to understand is this process is required and in no way means any decision has been made.       

[M.B. - 1/29/2013] 

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Thank you for the information Mr. Blakeman.

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As a footnote.

In putting together this post I looked over the visits to these various blog-pages over the past few months and noticed a few have received over one hundred hits.  But, I bring this up because one blog-post sky-rocketed past the others with over 750 hits.  Needless to say, I hope the powers that be take notice; this is a crucial issue and people are paying attention.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2012
The Impact of Climate Change on Ski Resort Operations and Development: Opportunities and Threats
To support my claim in yesterday's VWC-DEIS Comment, namely, that the future bodes ill for such grand speculations as Mr. McCombs dream of bulldozing the Alberta Park Watershed into a luxury vacation village.   I submit a few highlights from the following report, but encourage you to view the entire study at: continue here

Double play at the Village at Wolf Creek

Recently there was a must read article in the Durango Herald.

I'm trying to stay within Fair Use guidelines so I'm posting a chopped up version of the most important points.  I recommend reading the entire article at:

http://durangoherald.com/article/20121010/COLUMNISTS37/121019986/0/SEARCH/Double-play-at-the-Village-at-Wolf-Creek

The Durango Herald

Double play at the Village at Wolf Creek

by Dan Randolph

October 10, 2012

[...] 

[...] 

[...] 

To proceed with the swap, the Forest Service had an appraisal done to establish the value of the now public land parcel... The value of five single-family home sites is clearly less than the value of the proposed Village. 

[...] 

However, the appraisal that is being used to establish the value of the public land that would be traded used five single-family homes sites as the proposed use. 

The Forest Service and McCombs... can’t have it both ways. If the proposal is for the Village, then the land must be appraised for that use. Alternatively, the EIS could match the appraisal and should consider only five homes. 

[...] 

The Forest Service argues in the EIS that the agency must allow year-round highway access, of the type needed for the Village, to allow for the “reasonable use and enjoyment” of the current private land parcel. The question becomes whether “reasonable use and enjoyment” necessitates the Village. 

There are thousands of private in-holdings... Do they all have the right to the access necessary for 1,700 units?... The whole EIS is predicated on this absurd notion... The appraisal is based on the “highest and best use” of the parcel – five homes – rather than the dreams of the McCombs family. 

Before the analysis goes any farther, the public has the right to understand why the Forest Service appears willing to trade the value of five home sites to facilitate a development of more than 1,700 units. 

[...]

Dan Randolph is executive director of the San Juan Citizens Alliance.

Freedom to inform refused by the USDA Forest Service [updated!]

There it is.  

The Gag Order stands firm and I may not share excerpts from the revealing pages 50 and 51 "Highest and Best Use Analysis" section.

Read on for The Rest Of The Story. . .