I live in Helena. I have been here since I was a little kid, about 44 years now. Yeah, it's sad watching the forest disappear. It's also sad watching the forest disappear under the onslaught of people from other states that moved into the forest and wipe it out to build their fantasies, and drive the deer and elk and bear from where they used to live. I feel bad for the trees. But not for the landowners. They chose this.
Yes, I thought of you when I read the article. And there is no mention of planting new trees in the article. Where are all the animals supposed to live? It is a hard life for them.
Thanks for posting it though, I hadn't read it. Leave to somebody not from here (12 years does not make you "from here") to get a write-up in a national paper!
The beetles only affect pines, not spruces or douglas fir. It is like a pandemic. It will kill many, perhaps most, pines, and wildfire will clean up the mess. However we will try to stop the wildfires, partly to protect fools who never should have built their houses in densely wooded areas to begin with. The rocky mountain bioregion is a wildfire succession area, part of the natural process of summer thunderstorms and disease cycles. It's like the fools who keep building on floodplains and then "d'oh! it flooded again!"
True, not a local -- although at least he worked on having a fire break, etc. But most folks seem to love being "in the midst of Mother Nature", sigh. Very true in California, and I see plenty of them around here too -- although here we have a lot more rain so it's less of an issue.
I'm also "amused" by people who think that because one lives at a higher elevation, flooding isn't an issue. Uh, yeah, we do. We have rivers up here, and lots of ledge too, nice layer of rocks that trap water quite nicely thanks.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-07-07 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-08 05:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-08 06:10 pm (UTC)The beetles only affect pines, not spruces or douglas fir. It is like a pandemic. It will kill many, perhaps most, pines, and wildfire will clean up the mess. However we will try to stop the wildfires, partly to protect fools who never should have built their houses in densely wooded areas to begin with. The rocky mountain bioregion is a wildfire succession area, part of the natural process of summer thunderstorms and disease cycles. It's like the fools who keep building on floodplains and then "d'oh! it flooded again!"
no subject
Date: 2009-07-08 06:23 pm (UTC)I'm also "amused" by people who think that because one lives at a higher elevation, flooding isn't an issue. Uh, yeah, we do. We have rivers up here, and lots of ledge too, nice layer of rocks that trap water quite nicely thanks.