Manti-La Sal Beetle Kill Harvest

[jryoung]

This video has popped up in my facebook feed a couple of times over the past couple of months and I finally found a shareable link (for those without FB). This seems like a good program to remove beetle killed spruce. All the positives are highlighted in the video, demand for the product, lower fire risk etc. etc.

Are there any downsides to this type of treatment? Is the fire risk still as high as the trees dry out and needles fall? What about the loss of biomass is there a threshold where it is not beneficial?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpB-VHCSOaM&feature=youtu.be

 

[375H&H]

According to my dad, 40 years in the timber industry, hardly any downside to this. More feed for wildlife, economic value with jobs and sales, elimination of catastrophic fire event,

Fire risk increases as the trees dry out and in that instance, those trees would eventually burn for sure. Trees grow back so biomass is replaced and more biomass could be lost if a catastrophic fire event occurred.

 

[noharleyyet]

4400 truckloads of usable resource. Interesting video.

 

[Nameless Range]

I think these projects are generally good. I live in an area that was heavily affected by pine beetle between 2000-2008. Literally over 800,000 acres of contiguous forest with the majority of basal area affected.

That said, numerous studies have shown that after the needles hit the ground, pine beetle has little effect in terms of increasing acres burned. Here is a link. I do think there are safety concerns with fighting fire in a beetle killed blowdown, which may indirectly affect fire suppression.

There's a cool study going on in the Elkhorn Mountains as it pertains to elk behavior in habitat affected by pine beetle. Link...

I have a love/hate relationship with beetle kill. Currently, 10 years after the infestation, I'd say half the lodgepole are on the ground and all the ponderosa are on the ground. Something I would wonder about, is how will the removal of this biomass affect what the landscape will look like 40 years from now? I have a feeling it won't matter, and will just expedite the process of undergrowth and grasses taking the place of dense forests in many places. Elk and deer generally avoid thick beetle kill, and little grows there in terms of feed. What I like about it though, is it creates "walls" of security.

 

[BuzzH]

In general, I would also say good over-all.

There are a few things I'm always concerned about regarding large scale timber sales. The main one is the amount of new roads that they may require and how those roads are mitigated. Are they going to completely decommission the roads, gate the new roads? Another concern is also weed infestations both on the roads and in the logged areas where the soil is tore up.

Hard to know from just looking at the brief video, but it appears new roads were punched in that could increase vulnerability to big-game from hunting pressure if gated or left open. Could also provide a way for illegal ATV use to expand as the country around the sale area is very open.

Another potential down-side is when they opened that stand, it exposes the remaining live trees to wind throw...spruce and sub-alpine fir are both pretty vulnerable to that problem. It does appear that there are enough live trees left per acre to provide a viable seed source for regeneration, if they don't wind throw too soon.

The biomass removal issue, I don't see that as a problem because again from the brief look at the video, it appears they are leaving a pretty good amount of biomass on the ground. That may seem "wasteful" to some, but that large woody material provides soil stability, long-term nutrient cycling, and also microsites for new trees to grow (primarily shade). Carbon cycling is real. I like to see some large woody biomass left on the ground.

I also think, again judging from what I can see on the video, there is a good chance that there will be significant increase in aspen regeneration, which will be good for browsers.

Wildfire risk, I agree that it will reduce the intensity by removing a big part of the fuel load. Will it be fireproof? No. Less intense if one happens? Absolutely.

I don't know that I agree with the reseeding of grasses only, again, I think on those north facing slopes in that country, there was a good chance that early succession could have had a more dominant component made up of shrubs following disturbance. The reseeding of grass will largely favor elk over mule deer, which may or may not be a good thing from a management standpoint.

As long as the roads and the weeds are mitigated...I think its largely a positive thing.

My 2 cents.