Black-backed woodpeckers need small fires, not large ones

Scott Crosbie bands a BBWO at Sagehen in 2004.

The Black-backed Woodpecker (BBWO) is a threatened bird that colonizes burned areas, and depends on standing dead snags for their nests. As such, they are a touchstone species in the debate about salvage logging of burned and beetle-killed forests. Some environmentalists (notably, Chad Hansen of the John Muir Institute) are advocating for allowing large wildfires to burn, assuming this creates more habitat for the BBWO.

Here's an interesting new paper on Black-backed Woodpeckers:

"Our expectation, grounded in island biogeographical theory (MacArthur & Wilson, 1967), was that larger fires should show increased colonization and persistence. To the contrary, sites in larger fires were less likely to be colonized..."

So much for the emerging "Just Let it Burn" argument--these fires are just too big and destructive. We need to thin first, then let regular, low intensity fire back in. And leave lots of standing dead for BBWOs and other wildlife, too, of course.

Here's a short video of a BBWO nesting near the Sagehen fishhouse in 2014. BBWOs are a regular resident at Sagehen, where they nest in standing beetle-killed trees, not burned ones. See observations of BBWOs at Sagehen on iNaturalist:

SFP Videos and 1-sheet

We've been chipping away at a series of 6 short videos explaining the Sagehen Forest Project evolution. Watch them below--just one left to finish!



We're also headed off to Washington DC next week for Congressional Visits Day, so we produced a 1-sheet (2-sides) explaining Sagehen and the Sagehen Forest Project very succinctly:

Recent article on the SFP

The Tahoe Quarterly profiled the Sagehen Forest Project in their December 2016 issue.

"In a small corner of the Sierra Nevada, a wide and unlikely combination of interested parties has quietly worked on the problem for over a decade. Located just north of Truckee, the 8,100-acre Sagehen Experimental Forest serves as a living laboratory for forest management, and offers one potential answer to the growing problems the Sierra Nevada and other Western forests face."

KGO-TV reports on wildfire issues and the Sagehen Forest Project treatments

Read story here.



Read story here.

Public policy shifting on fire management?

The Sagehen Forest Project proposes restoring ecological function to the Sagehen Basin. It turns out that doing this tames wildfire and is good for wildlife, good for the timber industry, and good for water quality. Everyone wins.

Some recent developments suggest that forest management policy in California may be about to shift dramatically in that direction.

1. California Budget Request: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions and Forest Carbon Storage through Forest Health Treatments. 

"The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) requests $180 million Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17, with position authority and associated funding in subsequent years through FY 2021-22...for a comprehensive forest health program that will further secure forest carbon and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to meet the 2030 carbon goals within Executive Crder (EC) B-30-15. Funds will support the expansion of the Urban and Community Forestry, Forest Legacy Programs , and target landscape-scale Forest Health projects in high-priority forested upper watersheds in coordination with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to realize the largest direct benefit for GHG reduction, forest resilience and cobenefits, such as protection of water, wildlife habitat, and rural economic stability."

2. Saving The West (now Living Forests). A policy Discussion Document from the Center for the Study of the Force Majeure, 2016.

3. Proclamation of a State of Emergency: Tree Mortality, Governor of California. December 2015.

4. Improving the Federal Response to Western Drought, Public Policy Institute of California. February 2016.

From Amy Horne:

"Just released PPIC report urges 5 reforms needed for water in California including restoring forest health and reducing fuel loads in headwaters. Also calls for FS to shift focus from fire suppression to fire prevention. The specific recommendation is:"

Initiate multiple large-scale collaborative projects to restore forest health 

There has been considerable progress in improving the pace of restoration of forested lands nationwide (US Forest Service 2015). Yet many interviewees felt that to date, most efforts at fire prevention and forest health have been small-scale demonstration projects. To improve public perception and demonstrate benefits—including the potential for boosting drought resilience for downstream users—the Forest Service needs to incorporate a series of large-scale projects into all of the emerging forest management plans. These projects should explore incentives for financial investments from beneficiaries to cover a portion of the costs.32 In addition, partnerships should be formed to promote research and development of new wood energy and building industry products that can increase the value of harvests that reduce fuel loads.

Sagehen Project Decision Notice signed!

Dear Sagehen Project Collaborators and Interested Parties,


The Sagehen Project Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact was signed by Alexander Friend (Director, Pacific Southwest Research Station) and Tom Quinn (Tahoe National Forest Supervisor) on May 6, 2013.

The Sagehen Project Environmental Assessment (EA) and supporting documents are available online at the Tahoe National Forest’s website.

The legal notice of the decision is expected to be published in Grass Valley’s The Union newspaper as soon as tomorrow. The date of the legal notice in The Union will establish the timeframe for the 45-day appeal filing period under 36 CFR 215.

Laurie Perrot
Environmental Coordinator
Tahoe National Forest
631 Coyote Street
Nevada City, CA 95959
lperrot@fs.fed.us
(530) 478-6244

• Decision Letter
• Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact
• Responses to Public Comments Received

30-day public comment period for the Sagehen Project preliminary Environmental Assessment ends soon!

The 30-day public comment period for the Sagehen Project preliminary Environmental Assessment (EA) began on March 5, 2013 and will close soon.  Interested parties who have not yet done so should read this excellent result of over a year-and-a-half of collaborative process and submit your comments.

The EA is now available online at the Tahoe National Forest website.

Graphic artwork

Scientific Illustrator Stephanie Rozzo recently produced graphic art demonstrating concepts behind the Sagehen Forest Project. Let us know if you would like copies of this poster or its components for project outreach.

General Technical Report - 237

The Pacific Southwest Research Station has released a new publication: GTR-237.

This new publication addresses "widespread interest in applying new forest practices based on concepts presented in U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report PSW-GTR-220, "An Ecosystem Management Strategy for Sierran Mixed-Conifer Forests".

GTR-220 provides much of the foundation of the Sagehen Forest Project.

Sustainable management of fire-dependent forests

8-13-09: For Sagehen Speaker Series no. 26, Dr. Malcolm North discusses a new, multi-discipline publication from the Forest Service PSW, "An Ecosystem Management Strategy for Sierran Mixed-Conifer Forests" (GTR-220). The report is also available here [PDF].

*Update: GTR-237 is out!

More info about forest fire research at Sagehen.

Sustainable management of fire-dependent forests. from F. Felix on Vimeo.