Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** US will plant more trees to combat losses due to climate change
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Tuesday, July 26, 2022
A pine tree seedling freshly planted in February 2009, USFS/Flickr ([link removed])

The Biden administration plans to replant trees ([link removed]) on millions of acres of forest affected by wildfires and other symptoms of climate change, like insects and drought ([link removed]) . Warming temperatures and less rain mean hotter and bigger fires are taking out trees more rapidly than in the past, leading to a backlog of 4 million acres ([link removed]) of forest in need of replanting. This comes on the heels of legislation passed last year ([link removed]) requiring the Forest Service to plant 1.2 billion trees in national forests, called the REPLANT Act.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which houses the Forest Service, said it will have to quadruple ([link removed]) the number of seedlings produced by its nurseries to get through the backlog and keep up with future tree loss. The agency said it plans to scale up to about 400,000 acres ([link removed]) annually. It planted about 60,000 acres last year. Most of the replanting will occur in the West. The price tag on these efforts could reach $260 million ([link removed]) , according to the Forest Service, which is set to spent over $100 million on reforestation ([link removed]) work this year.

But this replanting effort could be stymied by the very conditions that precipitated it, as many seedlings won't be able to survive to adulthood due to climate change. That's according to Joe Fargione ([link removed]) , science director for North America at the Nature Conservancy.

“You’ve got to be smart about where you plant,” he said ([link removed]) . “There are some places that the climate has already changed enough that it makes the probability of successfully reestablishing trees pretty low.”

This comes on the heels of the Forest Service announcing plans to cut down small trees ([link removed]) on thousands of acres in order to better protect California's giant sequoias from wildfire, further highlighting the challenges of fighting climate change as it ravages Western public lands.
Quick hits


** Heat wave to hit Northwest as Northeast sees some relief
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ABC News ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed])


** Alaska experiencing wildfires in areas never seen before
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** Billions to plug orphan wells will only scratch the surface
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Bloomberg ([link removed])


** Yellowstone is this town’s golden ticket. Climate change threatens that.
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Report: oil and gas leasing may be holding back renewable energy progress
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Wyoming Public Radio ([link removed])


** Wildfire mitigation is a booming business, but community firebreaks are a more equitable solution
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KUER ([link removed]) [booming business] | High Country News ([link removed]) [equitable solution]


** After fire and flood, ash chokes acequias in northern New Mexico
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Source NM ([link removed])


** How public lands grazing contributes to climate change
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Inside Climate News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” This is almost the sole source of water in the central part of New Mexico and we’re not trying to save it just for the fish... We’re trying to save it for everybody and if the fish is that piece that helps us do that, then that’s what we have to use.”
—USFWS biologist Andy Dean ([link removed]) on keeping water in the Rio Grande for endangered minnows
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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Happy 32nd anniversary to the Americans with Disabilities Act!

Our public lands are for ALL people. For decades, Interior and its bureaus have worked to improve access to public lands and create new and innovative ways for participation and inclusion. Photo by Jacob W. Frank

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