What Cascadia Does

“Oh yeah, the conservation district… That must be, uh, some interesting work?” Verbatim, my loquacious uncle’s reply when I told him what I’ve been up to and where I’m working. Like most, my uncle had no idea what a conservation district is. Surprisingly, I’ve had a hard time getting people to understand just what a conservation district does. There is no easy elevator speech for conservation districts. So I’d like to use the next few blog posts to highlight some of our programs.

 Officially, from the National Association of Conservation Districts’ website,"Conservation districts are local units of government established under state law to carry out natural resource management programs at the local level. Districts work with millions of cooperating landowners and operators to help them manage and protect land and water resources on all private lands and many public lands in the United States" (http://www.nacdnet.org/). In short, it is an organization that seeks to help people take care of the land and environment around us. Cascadia’s landowner assistance program is one of several ways we do this.

A hedgerow, planted to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects.

 The landowner assistance program is for landowners in Chelan County, excluding those within Wenatchee and Chelan city limits, who are looking for technical and/or financial assistance in installing best management practices (land use practices which mitigate environmental degradation). This could mean replacing outdated irrigation, restoring buffers or riparian zones or even soil testing. Because of this area’s predominant agriculture industry, its proximity to anadromous fish habitat and its proclivity for wildfires, much of our landowner assistance is for landowners with streamside, farmland, orchard or forested property. That said, if your land does not fall in one of these categories, it does not disqualify you for such assistance.

An excellent example of landowners who not only took advantage of our landowner assistance program, but also became role models for environmental stewardship, was highlighted in a blogpost of ours from November 21, 2011.

If you’d like more information on landowner assistance you can call us at (509) 436-1601, email us at www.cascadiacd.org or just come by our office at 14 N Mission St. Landowner assistance is only a fraction of what we do here at Cascadia, so please come back next week for a look at the Family Forest Fish Passage Program.

With all of the warm weather and rain we’ve had in the last week, today’s snow pack in our area is a measly 63% of the 34 year average.  

Icons of North Central Washington

With this post we’ll conclude our look at the native plants offered by the Cascadia Conservation District. If you’d like to see the full plant list, make an order or get more information please visit our website.

These final two plants are symbols of our region. The grand ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and the vine maple often come to mind when thinking of healthy ecosystems in our area.

My favorite tree of all time, icon of the west and reigning top seller in our plant sale is the ponderosa pine tree. Ponderosa pine, colloquially ‘pondo’, is characterized by its orange, scaly, plate-like bark and long green needles which are typically borne in bundles of three. Growing to around 100 feet in mostly open stands, ponderosas often have the appearance of dominating their surroundings. They are also known for smelling like vanilla.

Very well adapted for our climate east of the Cascades, ponderosa pine isn’t just fire tolerant, it depends on fire. With its thick bark a large ponderosa can handle the low intensity fires that were ubiquitous to this area prior to modern forest management. These fires eliminated the pondo’s resource competitors, allowing it proper exposure and sufficient resources. Since management plans have included enthusiastic fire suppression, shade tolerant trees and shrubs have moved into ponderosa stands throughout the west, lending such stands the characteristics necessary for the increasingly large scale fires we’ve been seeing as of late.

As for conservation uses, ponderosa is commonly used in shelterbelts, living snow fences and in riparian restoration. Ponderosa stands make great habitat for squirrels, birds and bats and provide shelter for big game. Because ponderosa needs exposure, it is a seral species which, when mature, can provide the necessary shade for shade tolerant species to return after a significant disturbance. This makes it an excellent native plant choice for post fire restoration.

Vine maple (Acer circinatum) is another iconic native plant in our region. It is a deciduous tree with red and white flowers in the spring, and brilliant red to subdued yellow broadleaves in the fall. Typically vine maple will grow between 10 and 30 feet tall, with shaded specimens reaching the upper end of that range readily and exposed specimens on the shorter side.

Vine maple grows best along streams and moist sites. It prefers shady sites, but can tolerate some exposure.  In more exposed sites it often takes a single-stemmed tree form, while in shade it usually grows as a shrub in clumps and thickets.

With its white and red flowers in the spring and showy colors in the fall, vine maple is a common choice for those looking to use native species to beautify their landscaping. It is also used as a streamside stabilizer, as a pioneering species at disturbed sites and is an important food source for birds and large and small mammals alike.

Again, if you’re interested in ordering any of our plants, need more information or would like to sign up for our native planting workshop, please see our website.

Today’s Central Columbia River area snowpack is currently at 63% of its 29 year average (USDA/NRCS National Water and Climate Center, http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov).

Dry Spring

Summer is nearly upon us. And for the first time in a few years I feel like the weather has progressed in an appropriate fashion, slowly transitioning out of winter, warming up in early spring, some hot days in May, but generally a constant increase in temperature without a lot of fluctuation. The hills were spring green, the flowers bloomed, and now as we move into summer they’re taking on their more traditional ‘golden’ color.  I consider it an almost perfect spring.

Perfect except for the lack of moisture. It’s looking to be a dry summer. Three small blazes have already occurred in and around the area. One from lightning, one from a campfire, and the most recent may be linked to fireworks. While two of those were easily preventable (i.e. don’t play with fire outside in the summer), it still bodes poorly for this summer’s fire season.

It’s been a dry spring. That’s not to say there is or will be a lack of water. Last I looked the river was flowing along just fine, full of cold and (somewhat) clear water. Water still flows from our taps and our lawns are just as green as ever. The snowpack near the end of winter was just about where it needed to be to ensure proper water flows down the rivers and through our pipes.

The lack of spring moisture will be felt more in the hills and forests. Areas we can’t just turn on the sprinkler and let the water flow upon the parched land. And guess what? The native plants don’t care. There’s a reason they’re native. They survive and thrive in this climate. Going for a few months without water from the sky is natural.

Some of them survive by doing all their growing and flowering in the spring when there’s water available from snowmelt. At this point annuals usually die off leaving behind their seeds to sprout up the following spring. Some perennials die back and wait out the summer, fall, and winter, sprouting with new growth when spring comes again. Other plants survive and grow throughout the year by sinking roots deep into the soil to get at the water that never quite evaporates.

The problem is invasive plants thrive in this climate as well. They’re invasive because they can outcompete native plants. Whether by taking over areas native plants don’t usually grow, colonizing a disturbed area quicker, or some combination of these and other reasons.

Wildfires are a natural part of the ecosystem. And in a healthy ecosystem they generally burn quickly through an area and move on. The problem we have is the amount of material present creates dangerous fire conditions. Invasive plants grow around natives filling in what may have been a ‘natural’ fire break. Lack of fire over several years allows native plants to grow bigger and spread over a larger area than they have historically. All this leads to bigger and bigger fires.

Which can be counteracted by higher levels of moisture. It’s hard for fires to burn through green grass or damp soil. If there had been more spring rain the three small fires this year might not have occurred. Rain can counteract an unhealthy aspect of an ecosystem. The thing is we can’t count on the rain. Our area is dry and prone to fires. Hoping for moisture won’t change that.

Many wildfires can be prevented through safe outdoor activities: no campfires, no sparks, etc. But the lightning strike that started the first wildfire this year is not something we can control. Lightning is a natural process and was the original igniter for the natural wildfire cycle of our area. Putting it out was probably the correct thing to do. Wildfires have been suppressed long enough that to let them burn unchecked will lead to massive ecological and property damage. But we’ve also reached the point that any wildfires that do start will take on a life of their own and provide a real challenge to control and stop.

Funny how a lack of falling water from the sky can have such an impact on our area. We’ll probably be fine. Most people are safe when they’re outdoors in the middle of the summer with the fire danger. And hopefully it doesn’t turn into a smoky, miserable summer.

Our World Supplied by Trees

Taiga forest in Alaska. Taiga forests exist in northern 

latitudes and consist mainly of coniferous trees.

Look out the window and consider what you see outside. There’s a good chance a tree is on that list. Trees can be found almost anywhere. They cover huge tracts of land in areas ranging from the equator to arctic regions. How often do you stop and think of everything that trees provide? Take a guess at the number of products derived from one species of a tree or another. Would you say 100? 500? 1000? The actual number is nearer to 5000. That’s right. 5000 products rely on a product derived from a tree. Industries ranging from construction to health care rely on trees.

Peeling bark from a Pacific yew.

When I say health care relies on trees, I don’t mean wooden tongue depressors. Several drugs found their origins in chemicals produced by trees. Aspirin was first isolated from the bark of a willow tree. The cancer drug, Taxol, was found in the bark of the Pacific yew. Quinine, an antimalarial drug, is derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. Eucalyptus oil, used in many cold medicines, is extracted from the leaves of the eucalyptus. I could keep listing more drugs, but I think you get the idea. The amazing thing is this is just a fraction of the possibilities. There are still countless tree species that have yet to be studied for their medicinal properties.

Trees supply our paper. The list of products that use paper is astounding. Books, newspapers, posters, brochures, etc. are all produced from paper. Paper gave us the means before computers to spread information around the world and make it available to the masses. Cardboard is produced in much the same process and is just as useful. And regardless of whether you consider paper environmentally friendly, it does remain a completely renewable resource. Computers, however, are not renewable. Every computer is built out of materials that are finite. Think about that next time you’re trying to save the environment reading the news on your tablet instead of on newsprint.

A log being rough cut into lumber.

How many buildings could we build without a ready supply of wood? Not many. And they’d probably look a lot different. I realize that many large buildings are constructed from other base materials, but houses still rely a great deal on wood. Lumber cut straight out of the tree is used to frame the house. Added to the wood needed for framing is the collection of plywood, particleboard, fiberboard, I-joists, and glulam beams used in other parts of the construction. All of these are made from processed wood parts. Most of it is wood that would be unusable otherwise, and is processed with an adhesive to create these uniform products.

What about all the food we get from trees? I realize we don’t generally eat the wood itself, but trees produce many of our favorite foods. Apples, cherries, pears, oranges, and several other fruits grow on trees. Walnuts, pecans, almonds, and other nuts do as well. These crops represent an important portion of our diets and for those that grow them an important source of income.

Latex flowing out of tree bark into a collection vessel.

Rubber comes from the refined sap of a few species of trees, but the most common tree is the Pará rubber tree. Granted the majority of rubber doesn’t come from trees. Most of it is produced from petroleum. But rubber trees represent a renewable source of rubber. On the other hand removing natural habitat to grow these trees is not a viable option either. Rubber is used for car tires, without it what would we drive on? We use it to put soles on our shoes. Bouncy balls are made out of rubber, and who doesn’t love a bouncy ball?

A view of the Amazon Rainforest.

Obviously this is just a very small sampling of the vast number of products that come from trees. And while I’ve only listed a few I hope these stand out and show the importance of trees in our everyday lives. Without trees what would we have? Not much. Consider the importance of wood in just two items: lumber and paper. Where would our society be without these two things? Would we have advanced to this point without them? My guess is no.

I realize that many products have switched from wood to other materials. Sometimes this is because the other material is better for that use. Other times it’s because the other material is cheaper. But how often is that other product renewable? Unless it’s also a product that grows it’s probably not sustainable. I’m not saying to run out and start cutting down trees because they’re so awesome and can be used for many things. Improperly managed trees will not remain a renewable resource for long. But proper management and utilization of trees can allow us to keep using the plethora of items that are produced from them.

Come back next week for another post.

Josh

Christmas Trees

If you take children along to cut a tree you can get them 

to carry it, and use that moment to take a cute photo.

So you want to cut your own Christmas tree? There are two reasons that come to mind when people choose to get their own tree. Either you hate paying $40 or $50 for a tree (don’t blame you), or you enjoy going out with your family and friends to pick out a perfect tree together. Personally, I combine both reasons. I like that it’s cheaper, and I enjoy spending the day driving through the forest looking for a tree. But you can’t just go anywhere you want and cut whatever tree you want. There are rules that need to be followed. For a complete listing of the rules visit the forest service website that outlines everything for you.

However, I’m still going to give you the basics of the rules. A quick and dirty version if you will:

1)      You will need a tree permit

a.       A mere $5 at a forest service office

2)      Trees must be less than 15 feet tall.

3)      Leave at most a 6 inch stump.

4)      Try not to cut the only tree in an area.

5)      Only cut trees within national forest lands.

6)      Do not cut any tree within 150 feet of any water, flowing or still.

7)      Do not cut trees out of campgrounds or other related sites

And now for a quick rundown of tree care:

1)      Be gentle with your tree as you transport it to prevent needle and limb loss.

2)      If tying your tree to the top of a car you may wish to wrap it to prevent wind damage.

3)      Once to your home make a fresh cut on the tree base and place directly in water.

4)      Keep tree in a cool, wind free place until you take it into the house.

5)      Do not put the tree next to any sources of ignition.

6)      Properly dispose of your tree.

That should cover the basics of cutting your own tree. On top of that remember to stay safe while you’re out there. Only take vehicles that you know can handle the rapidly changing conditions of winter forest service roads. A snow storm can start and dump inches of snow in the time it takes you to track down a Christmas tree.

The beginnings of Christmas trees. 

Talking about cutting your own Christmas tree kind of ignores the first decision that must be made when choosing a tree: real or fake? There are people that argue both sides for a variety of reasons. Let’s take a look.

The first reason is almost always aesthetical. It’s either you can’t tell the difference between them (those in favor of fake trees), or you’ll never beat the natural look (those in favor of a real tree). From there the argument usually dives into how you can’t beat the natural pine smell, and the other side arguing that’s a good thing. And then it turns into an argument of needles. The fake tree people say that it’s much easier to clean up, and the other side returns that it’s not so bad. Just make sure to get the right tree and they’ll hardly lose any needles. And finally you get to the cost argument. Well if you go cut your own tree it’s only $5! Yeah, well that $200 fake tree will be usable for years to come. It’ll add up. So this goes on and on for a while and neither side really bends. So who’s right? It’s really based on your own preferences.

Let’s start with the visual arguments. I personally think that a fake tree looks fake, which defeats the purpose of getting a tree in the first place. But, to be honest, it doesn’t look that bad. (Assuming of course it’s a fake green tree, and not one of the bright neon trees.)

The pine smell. This is at least half the reason I like real Christmas trees. It’s as if you get to bring the forest into your home for a month and enjoy it without having to go outdoors. I do realize that some people don’t care about the smell, or they find it offensive, and for them a fake tree may be more appropriate.

A few years old. Trees can take anywhere from 6 to 10
years to be ready for harvest.

The needles can be a pain, I agree. And there have been years that I had to vacuum almost every day just to keep my living room looking clean. But on the other hand my tree last year had next to no needle loss, and it continued to hold its needles well after I had taken it down and thrown it outside. (I should have made a note what type of tree it was, but of course I forgot.) The takeaway is that needle loss can be fairly well avoided with proper watering and tree selection.

The cost argument is usually what gets me. I hate spending $40 on a live tree. Let alone $200 or more on a fake tree. I do realize that if you do normally buy live trees for $40 or more that it quickly adds up from year to year. In that case buying an artificial tree might be cost effective. But remember when considering the cost effectiveness of buying a fake tree that you may not get all the years out of it you think you will. You may think that the tree will last you 10 or 15 years, when in reality it may only last you 5 before it gets too beat up to use anymore. And if you cut your own tree for only $5 it’s hard to argue the cost effectiveness of buying an artificial tree. (Even with factoring in $10 or $15 each year for the gas cost of getting your tree.)

Now let’s explore some environmental factors that might influence your decision. Mainly, which is more environmentally friendly? From the few studies that I could find that explored this issue neither one is that bad for the environment. Especially when compared to things such as driving to work every day. If you travel only a few miles to get a real tree than it can often be less environmentally damaging when compared to a fake tree. But that was based on a 6 year lifespan of an artificial tree. Increasing that lifespan or increasing the distance to get a real tree could flip the results around. However, it should be noted that parking your car for a week or two could offset the environmental cost of either option for any given year.

In conclusion the choice is yours. Depending on what you’re looking for you could choose a real or an artificial tree. Neither one has a huge advantage over the other. If you want to go with a live tree and want to cut it yourself remember to follow the rules and stay safe.

Make sure to tune in next week for another article.

Josh

The Fungi

© Hartmann Linge, 

Wikimedia Commons

What comes to mind when you think about fungi? Perhaps it’s mold on a bread slice, a bright red mushroom on the forest floor, or maybe you’re not sure what a fungus is. Regardless, fungi are so much more. Not only are the visible portions of a fungus usually just a small part of a larger organism, but many fungi are difficult to see because they’re under the soil, inside a tree, or microscopic. The truth is fungi are everywhere. 

A fairy ring. The mushrooms mark the outer reaches
of the entire underground fungal growth.

Mushrooms may be easily visible, but they’re only part of a larger system. A mushroom is simply the fruiting body of the larger, unseen mycelial mat. (A mycelial mat is the portion of a fungus not usually seen by human eyes. It’s responsible for uptake of nutrients and water and for most other functions as well.) Mushrooms are responsible for releasing spores into the air. The spores then travel on air currents in the hopes that they land somewhere with the right conditions to allow for growth of a new fungus. While a single mushroom cannot show the true size of the underground mycelium, a group of them might be able to. This is seen in fairy rings where the mushroom ring outlines the entire area of growth.

Walking through a forest you often see fallen trees and other debris rotting on the floor. What causes that debris to rot? Fungi. And it’s a good thing too. If that material didn’t rot and break down the forest floor would slowly accumulate more and more stuff. Eventually the floor would be so full that nothing could grow up through the choking mass of debris. The only things that would survive would be the trees already present, but even they would eventually die. At some point all the trees would die and nothing would be left except a pile of dead logs and accumulated leaf litter.

© Mary and Angus Hogg, Wikimedia Commons

Decomposition (the same thing as rotting just a more technical term) is important for two main reasons. One, as mentioned above, it helps break down debris and keep the ground clear. Two, by breaking down the debris it returns the nutrients in forms that can be reused by other plants. Without this cycling of nutrients plants wouldn’t be able to grow and thrive regardless of the availability of space on the forest floor. Fungi’s roll in decomposition makes it one of the most important players in the plant cycle. Without fungi the cycle would stop.

While decomposition of fallen trees and debris is generally good for still living and future plants, rotting of living tissue is not. Some fungi will infect a tree and start breaking down the inner part of the tree. The tree may look perfectly healthy and then one day fall over. And it won’t be until it’s fallen over on the ground that you can tell it had been rotted from the inside out.

Fungi can also help plants grow and thrive in environments that might normally be inhospitable to a plant. Fungi do this through a mycorrhizal association with the roots of a plant. This association is symbiotic between the plant and the fungus. (Symbiotic relationships are when two or more species form a close working relationship, often for long periods of time. These relationships can take different forms: benefit all; benefit one and hurt another (parasites); and benefit one without hurting the other.) The fungus is able to pull water and nutrients out of the soil that the plant may not be able to get at for a variety of reasons: soil pH, water content, etc. The fungus then transports these to the plant’s roots where the plant exchanges the nutrients for carbohydrates.

A elm tree showing the 

effects of Dutch elm disease.

© Luis Fernández García,

Wikimedia Commons

Not all fungi are helpful though. It’s estimated that more than 80% of all plant diseases are caused by fungi. These diseases cover a broad spectrum of symptoms and effects. Some fungi simply infect a few leaves and don’t hurt the overall health of the plant, but others can start on a leaf and quickly make its way through the whole plant. Destroying the plant host as it goes.

Most plants and fungi in an area have evolved together over time. The fungi come up with a new way to infect, and the tree responds with a new defense. In general this keeps them fairly well matched. Fungi still infect certain specimens, but most are able to fight off the infections. The issue arises with introduced pathogens. Fungi from other continents might present challenges to native species. Diseases like Dutch elm disease and sycamore anthracnose are the result of fungi that were introduced into areas with plant species that had no defenses to them. This has led to the death and disfigurement of large numbers of both elm and sycamore trees.

Next time you’re out walking around I hope this blog helps you understand the role of fungi in your life. Remember that many things in life wouldn’t be possible without them. They help the plants grow and through them help us as well. And while fungi do cause many problems, their positives far outweigh their negatives. And last, but definitely not least, without fungi in the form of yeast we would have neither bread nor beer. Mull about that next time you’re sitting in a brewery/bakery enjoying the fruits of a fungi’s labor.

As always tune in next week for another informative article.

Josh

Fall is for the Trees

A look at an orchard in early fall. Notice the variety of colors present.

Fall is a special time of year. It’s a time to enjoy the beauty of nature, but it’s also a time for preparation. We prepare our cars, homes, and yards for the coming snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. We insulate our homes and switch out our bald tires for studded snow tires. Once the cold sets in we try to avoid going outside. And if we do have to venture out we dash from one heated location to another, out the door of our home into the car and from the car into the store. We have the options and the abilities to protect ourselves from the winter weather by removing ourselves from it. Trees don’t have that luxury. A tree can’t simply uproot and walk into a warm house. It’s stuck where it’s rooted. It must prepare itself for winter.

A maple tree girded in full fall foliage. 

Perhaps the most visible preparation is the changing colors and eventual loss of leaves on deciduous trees. Nothing quite brings to mind fall as seeing the multitudes of colors across the different species of trees. Reds, oranges, and yellows dot our cities and forested hills. The landscape becomes a kaleidoscope of colors for a short time. Slowly the kaleidoscope fades as the once colorful leaves fall to the ground. Our cities and hills lose their vibrant colors. All that remains are leafless trees, bare until the spring.

Trees lose their leaves for a very basic reason. It’s better for their survival. They wouldn’t necessarily die if they kept them throughout the winter, but it would cost them more energy than they would take in. Photosynthesis uses sunlight to create carbohydrates. Plants use these carbohydrates for almost everything. They need them to grow. For photosynthesis to work, however, there needs to be sun and heat. However, winter days are short, often cloudy, and cold. Opposite of the ideal conditions. So the trees drop their leaves.

Why do the leaves change first though? Why aren't the leaves just dropped, still green, to the ground? Nutrients. The tree spent energy and resources to grow the leaves. There’s no reason to just throw them away. So first the tree resorbs what material it can from the leaves. It uses enzymes to break down complex molecules into their base amino acids or carbohydrates. These are then funneled into the branches, trunk, and roots of the tree for storage until the new growth in the spring. Of course this process isn't free. The tree must continue photosynthesizing as this occurs.

An aspen grove with its brilliant yellow foliage.

Where does the red, orange, and yellow come from? For the most part the colors are already present in the leaves. They’re just not seen because the chlorophyll is so much more prevalent during the growing season. The color change occurs in the fall because the chlorophyll stops getting replaced as it degrades under constant sun exposure. This allows the carotenoids (orange), xanthophylls (yellow), and anthocyanins (red) pigments to show through. Oddly enough production of some of these pigments can often increase in the fall as the leaves get closer to dropping. Leading to brilliant colored leaves in some trees. One reason that production of these pigments might increase is because of nutrients available in the leaf. As fall progresses the pathways out of the leaf eventually close. This leads to a buildup of nutrients. These nutrients are then used in the production of lesser pigments. But eventually even these pigments degrade from light exposure. At this point the only color left is brown, which comes from tannins.

What about internal changes? What goes on inside a tree to protect it from freezing temperatures? The first thing to know is that the cold temperatures themselves aren't necessarily harmful to the plant. The bigger issue is that water expands as it freezes. Fill a water bottle full of water and put it in the freezer. When it finishes freezing you'll see that the water has either burst out the cap or through a side. The same thing would happen if water froze inside a cell.

So why don't tree cells burst when the temperature drops below freezing? The simple answer is that all water doesn't freeze at 32º. The freezing temperature varies depending on the concentration of solutes in the water. Increase the solutes, decrease the freezing temperature. Trees make use of this property by increasing the concentration of solutes in their cells as winter approaches. These solutes function as an antifreeze for the tree.

Another benefit that all plants have are cell walls. Cell walls are rigid structures that surround the softer cell membrane. They provide support, strength, and protection. They're one of the reasons that trees can grow so large. They allow the individual cells to flex and move while relying on the cell wall to maintain integrity. If water does have a chance to freeze in a plant it often occurs outside of a cell. As the ice crystal expands it can punch through the cell wall and push on the cell membrane. The cell membrane is flexible. It can wrap itself around the encroaching ice. As the cell shrinks it forces water out, increasing the solute concentration inside the cell. Further protecting the cell from internal freezing.

The downfall of increasing the solute concentration is that it takes up space in the cell. Space that otherwise would be used by the cell for normal operations. This forces the cells to go dormant while they're full of this antifreeze. The cells are protected, but they can't keep working. They must wait until it warms in the spring to flush the antifreeze and resume normal cellular operations.

Just as the trees spend weeks and months preparing themselves for the coming cold, so must we. We can't prepare overnight for a temperature change of 70º and freezing weather. We must acclimate ourselves to it slowly. We can't pump antifreeze into our blood and cells, but we can insulate our bodies by increasing the number of layers we wear. We can sip warm drinks and funnel heat into our core. We prepare our bodies and homes in different, but similar, ways to the trees. And we do it for the same reasons. Survival. We survive the cold by preparing for the cold in a series of steps. 
What else can we takeaway from the fall trees? The simplest idea might be that even in beauty there is purpose. Fall leaves are pretty, but that is not their primary purpose. Nor is any of the other beauty in nature simply for our benefit. All beauty serves a purpose, whether that beauty is a tree preparing for fall, or melting snow funneling into a cascading waterfall. All of these things are part of the natural process of our environment. Go out and enjoy the beauty. 

As always tune in next week for another amazing article. I hope to continue with the fall theme for a few more weeks.

Josh

Fire: Bring on the Inferno

Imagine the forest and hills near Wenatchee 200 years ago, a stormy night in late August. The air is hot and stuffy. Dry lightning flashes in the night. A bolt shoots out and strikes the mountain. Flames appear. They spread. No rain to stop them. A wildfire is born.

With no controls this fire could burn for weeks or even months. Until the rain fell or it burned itself out. But this fire wasn't a raging wall razing the forest in its path. This fire burned through the brush and small trees. Clearing the forest floor, and occasionally burning tree stands. Just like it had 10 or 20 years before. Just like it would 10 or 20 years later. The cycle would keep repeating.

Except the cycle stopped. People showed up and they didn't like the fire. They feared for their lives and their livelihoods. Fire was evil. It had to be controlled. So they prepared for fires. They built fire lookouts. They watched the storms and rushed to extinguish any flames. They would control the fire.

For a time it worked. They stopped the fires. The forest grew. And grew. They harvested timber and the forest came back thicker than before. And they continued to stop the fires. But fire would not be denied. The forests were thick, but they were not teeming. Dead brush and branches littered the floor. Trees stood shoulder to shoulder where they had once stood apart.

Finally the trees grew too numerous. The underbrush too thick. Fire started and it raged. It burned. It devoured the landscape. The people had to fight so hard to contain it. And they did stop it.

But where the fire had gone nothing remained. Fires before had left tall, healthy trees relatively unscathed. Now there was nothing. The ground was dead. The trees were dead. Each trunk like a gravestone. The damage remains. It will be decades before these forests will be whole again.


Each new fire that crosses the land leaves a similar testament to our misunderstanding of the flames. A black wasteland. For years we assumed that fire was bad. How could something that burns the land be good for it? Fire is both destroyer and life giver. Fire often destroys what is there, but in return it allows new life to sprout from its ashes. The diversity of plants after a fire is astounding. There's no competition. The ground is open, free to whichever plant can get their seeds down first.

Several species require fire to propagate. Their seeds only released after a fire rushes over the landscape. Releasing their seeds from cones and other casings. Other species require fire to help them survive. Ponderosa pine grows best in open sunny locations. Its bark is thick and fire resistant, and its branches are far above the ground. It is suited to a landscape that receives fire. Without fire, other tree species can often out compete Ponderosa in its native habitat.

Fire should be embraced. Or at the very least accepted. Fire has always been here. Fire is much like a surgeon cutting out dead tissue and allowing new, healthy tissue to grow back in its place. The landscape is healthier with fire.

I'm not saying that fire should be allowed to burn and to just forget about the people. But there is a better line to walk. Strict fire suppression only leads to larger and more dangerous fires. Controlled burns are a good start. These can somewhat replicate a natural fire. It would be ideal to allow the fires to take back control, and burn what they've always burned. However, this isn't really a valid option anymore. The consequences are too severe.

Fire is not the enemy. Fire burns, but it also allows new growth. Growth that would never have occurred without a blank, blackened slate. Fire is as much a part of our landscape as the trees we are trying to protect. Accept it.