As part of its “green wall against sprawl,” King County agrees to pay Hancock Timber Resources Group $11.1 million for development rights on its White River Forest east of Enumclaw. Read more about this in the Seattle Times.
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Next month, a federal court judge will try to put a value on something that’s somewhat priceless: trees stolen from the Olympic National Forest. The trees in question include old-growth fir, six feet across, that laid down roots before the Revolutionary War; they include intricately patterned maple destined to become high-end musical instruments; they include cedar for shingle or shake. Read more about this issue.
Across the world, big old trees face a dire future globally from agriculture, logging, habitat fragmentation, exotic invaders, and the effects of climate change, warn leading scientists in an article published this week in Science magazine. Jerry Franklin – School of Environmental and Forest Sciences – is a co-author. Read more here.
 Water stress makes trees more susceptible to beetle infestation. Source: Wikimedia Commons Climate change means that, on average, the summers will be warmer, and with warmer temperatures there will be less water available for plants. A world-wide study has found that most forest tree species operate within a very narrow window for water stress, making them and the associated ecosystems highly vulnerable to global warming. Read more about this study here. Additionally, new research suggests that pine beetles that benefit from trees’ water stress are now contributing to global warming. Learn why here. Wildfires burned more than 116,000 acres in Central Washington this fire season, leaving vast areas scorched and blackened. Although some areas burned so severely that the soil structure actually changed, in other areas the plants will come back — because they’re adapted to fire. Read more about forests’ ability to deal with fire; SEFS‘ David Ford is quoted. Fernando Resende, assistant professor in SEFS, is creating technology to be used in the vast swaths of beetle-killed trees across the West, a technology that would not only produce liquid biofuels but would also mitigate forest fires and beetle infestations. Learn more about Resende’s exciting project here! Check out this video on the removal of the Elwha River dams and the ecosystem restoration to follow. Learn about what scientists are doing to better understand how the river functions now and how it will change in the future. You can watch the nine-minute video here!
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