We human beings make a lot of mistakes. And when we fail to learn from mistakes, the results can be destructive. Case in point is this awesome Northern Rockies ecosystem we all work and recreate in. Many of the forests that we enjoy and want to protect are “illusions,” created by simply putting out fires. They are “ghost forests.” Insects, disease and wildfire is nature’s prescription for putting this rich ecosystem back in balance. These ghost forests will eventually disappear. They will revert to nature’s intended plant communities, dominated by ponderosa pine and western larch; or nothing but grass and shrubs. This, I can promise.
The east face of the Bitterroot Mountains was an open ponderosa pine forest, maintained with frequent fire, when the first settlers arrived. I saw some of the first aerial photos ever taken in the 1920’s. Believe me, it looked like a pasture. Marcus Daly cut down almost every old growth pine and sent them to his smelter in Anaconda. Douglas and white fir, previously minor forest components, eventually dominated the area and created what we see today. If you haven’t noticed, nature has been working hard to destroy that illusion ever since the great fires of 2000. She will eventually get her way and many human occupants will pay a dear price for not protecting their properties.
Here is a short list of insects and diseases heading our way (actually, they are already here, just in small numbers):
1. spruce budworm (a defoliator that can infest millions of acres, almost overnight – it’s done it before. In 1958, it infested 4.9 million acres right here in western Montana),
2. Douglas-fir beetle – attacks after spruce budworm defoliates,
3. mountain pine beetle (already devastating lodgepole pine),
4. western pine beetle (kills old growth ponderosa pine and will be a very big deal when it happens),
5. Armillaria and laminated root rot (fungal diseases that destroy root systems of host until tree blows over. The largest living organism on earth is a twenty square mile Armillaria “mycelial fan” under the town of John Day, Oregon, that glows in the dark); and
6. Douglas-fir heart rot (turns the host into a chimney; looks like a roman candle when on fire – I’ve seen them as a firefighter in Oregon, decades ago – impressive!).
All of this devastation that is likely in our future is simply nature attempting to “re-set” this massive ecosystem called the Northern Rockies into a “correct setting,” back in balance, after a century of human failures. And yes, global warming is accelerating this process. We do need to work with Congressman Zinke and our governor, to change their support for coal – it challenges their credibility.
Despite all of this, there is great hope for the future. We just need to get to work. The BNF Westside Collaborative Vegetation Management Project is a great forest health model for moving forward. We need to replicate it across millions of acres.
Chris A. Linkenhoker
Corvallis