** Firefighters race to save Sequoia National Park's iconic trees with aluminum blankets
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Friday, September 17, 2021
Firefighters in Sequoia National Park | National Park Service ([link removed])

Firefighters in California's Sequoia National Park are racing to protect its iconic trees from advancing wildfires ([link removed]) , going so far as to wrap some of them in fire-proof aluminum blankets ([link removed]) . Officials fear the Colony Fire could reach the park's Giant Forest—a grove of roughly 2,000 giant sequoias, including the General Sherman tree, considered the world's largest tree by volume—within a day.

“They are taking extraordinary measures to protect these trees,” said ([link removed]) Christy Brigham, chief of resource management and science at Sequoia & Kings Canyon national parks. “Even though we have done all of this prescribed fire and feel like the fire behavior when it gets in there—if it gets in there—will be fairly moderate, we just really want to do everything we can to protect these 2,000- and 3,000-year-old trees."

Giant sequoias have thick, fire-resistant bark, and low intensity blazes actually help the trees by releasing seeds and removing dead needles and brush. However, hotter fires driven by climate change can prove deadly. “These trees have survived hundreds of fires over thousands of years," said ([link removed]) Brigham. “But there have been a couple major changes—a century of fire suppression combined with climate change-driven hotter droughts. That has meant fires that are burning hotter with taller flame lengths.”

Stands of ancient sequoias have been decimated in recent fire seasons. Last year's Castle Fire killed an estimated ([link removed]) 7,500 to 10,600 giant sequoias, according to National Park Service estimates. With multiple wildfires burning near sequoia groves in the Eastern Sierra and firefighters unable to access many areas due to steep terrain, the threat is expected to continue.
Quick hits


** Private mining road through Alaska wilderness, approved by Trump, would threaten tribal livelihoods
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Politico ([link removed])


** New Mexico works to diversify state land use, insulate budgets from oil and gas busts
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])


** Will the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada become another Keystone?
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Nevada Current ([link removed])


** As wildfires expand in Sequoia National Park, crews race to wrap iconic trees in fire-proof blankets
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | Bay Area News Group ([link removed]) | National Parks Traveler ([link removed])


** Climate scientists forecast high temperatures into the fall
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Study finds climate change is increasing rare earth elements in Colorado's Snake River
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High Country News ([link removed])


** Washington reopens state lands to recreation after extreme fire danger
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Spokane Public Radio ([link removed])


** Congressional budget proposal would undo land swap allowing Arizona copper mine on land sacred to tribes
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KNAU ([link removed])
Quote of the day
“If Secretary Haaland can come here then that would be a really big thing. With our lawsuit we can bring this to the president’s attention. He can, by the stroke of his pen, shut things down. So that’s what we’re hoping for.”
—P.J. Simon ([link removed]) , president of the Tanana Chiefs Conference, on the Ambler mining road in Alaska
Picture this


** @BLMUtah ([link removed])
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As the first national monument managed by the @BLMNational ([link removed]) , Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Sat., Sept. 18. Stay tuned for updates as we virtually celebrate 25 years of learning from the land & explore the amazing discoveries!

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