Don’t miss this in depth discussion with the Forest Service on Forest Restoration in Arizona. Navajo County Connection – WMSC

As temperatures heat up again, we are reminded of the upcoming wildfire season in Arizona and the devastation these fires can leave in their wake; and while many collaborative groups are looking to develop forest restoration initiatives to help sustain a healthy forest and prevent unnatural wildfires, one group of middle and high school students in Flagstaff is turning to entertainment to teach children about the importance of forest restoration.  A recipient of the Flagstaff Cultural Partner’s grant, The Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership (GFFP) has teamed up with Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy (FALA) to develop an entertaining and educational performance entitled “Yellow Belly Ponderosa” for children (K-5) in the Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD). The play tells the story of two children on a super secret mission where they meet trees and creatures of the forest. During their adventure, they learn about the history of forest health, how to work to restore the health of the forest, the value of science, wildfire mitigation and safety as well as flash flood safety. These skits, performed by FALA’s Intro to Theater students, will be held as assemblies during school hours at more than 10 elementary schools throughout the Flagstaff area as well as two free evening performances at the Coconino Center for the Arts at 2300 N Fort Valley Road on April 21 and May 5, both at 6:30pm.  The shows for the schools, which will tell the story to more than 5,000 students, will be delivered the last week of April through the first week of May. FALA parents, who are prominent local artists, that include Shonto Begay, have designed backdrops for the scenery of the play. “Given the recent intense, stand-replacing crown fires that threatened our community, devastated our treasured landscapes and resulted in flooding that has traumatically affected our fellow citizens, the timeliness of this messaging is at a critical turning point for our community,” Anne Mottek Lucas, lead project director and Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership Board member, said. This program will encompass an educational component designed specifically for elementary students that is focused on forest health issues.  More specifically, messaging will include:

• Historic conditions of the forest
• How the forest became “sick” (logging, overgrazing, fire suppression)
• What a healthy ponderosa pine forest should look like
• Why thinning and controlled burns are needed in our forests
• Protecting and enhancing native plants, animals, and other forest values
• How science is the basis for forest treatments
• Creating sustainable, healthy forest that can be enjoyed by future generations
• Wildfire prevention and preparedness (campfire awareness, how to protect your own home and neighborhood)
• Flash flood dangers and preparedness

This program is designed to enhance the quality of life for Arizona’s residents by relaying the concepts in the program through a “reverse” flow of information – initiated in youth and relayed to the parents and their extended families. “Public knowledge and support of our current forest health crisis is essential to the advancement of treatments that decrease the frequency of wildfires and yield healthy forests that can be enjoyed by citizens and visitors for years to come,” Mottek Lucas said.

Recently conservationists, scientists, industry representatives and community leaders met with the U.S. Forest Service in Flagstaff to sign the monumental Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) agreement to restore ponderosa pine forests across northern Arizona. The ambitious initiative, aimed to restore more than one million acres, is modeled after the White Mountain Stewardship Contract (WMSC), which was awarded to Future Forest LLC of Pinetop, AZ back in 2004 by the USDA Forest Service. The 10-year White Mountain Stewardship contract was developed partially as a result of the Rodeo-Chediski fire in 2002, the worst forest fire in Arizona’s recorded history, scorching almost ½ million acres of land and destroying more than 400 homes.  Since its inception, the WMSC has treated more than 50,000 acres of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and has created/preserved more than 300 jobs. “The message of forest restoration is imperative. The benefits are extensive and include everything from helping sustain a healthy forest and economy, to the protection of wildlife and preservation of clean drinking water. We want people to understand forest restoration has a positive effect on their lives, even if they don’t live in the mountain communities. It is important to all of us, especially for those who enjoy nature, wildlife and all types of outdoor recreational activities and what better way to tell the message than through our children,” Rob Davis, Future Forest Partner, said. “We hope this program is just the beginning of the educational process. This is a great message and program for children across our state, since we all benefit from our forests,” Davis said.

For more information about the “Yellow Belly Ponderosa” program visit, www.flagarts.com. For more information about The Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership visit www.gffp.org. For more information about the White Mountain Stewardship project visit www.futureforest.info or follow us at www.twitter.com/whitemtnsteward .

Conservationists, scientists, industry representatives and community leaders met with the U.S. Forest Service in Flagstaff recently to sign a monumental  agreement to restore ponderosa pine forests across northern Arizona. While the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) offers much optimism concerning the future of forest restoration in Arizona, many involved in the White Mountain Stewardship Contract (WMSC) are looking on with concern or skepticism, as similar 2004 agreements  regarding White Mountain restoration are being broken. The Forest Service recently slashed the budget for the White Mountain Stewardship Contract, announcing that restoration funding will be cut from the original 15,000 acre level to 5,000 acres per year.  Furthermore, agreements between the Forest Service, local industry, and environmentalists to protect large trees outside of community protection areas (which have been critical to the long-term success of the WMSC ) are being threatened due to interference from regional Forest Service leadership in Albuquerque. The net result of this string of broken promises may be the loss of over 200 jobs, loss of 22 existing restoration businesses, and ultimately fewer acres being restored.

“This cutback and decrease in restoration from 15,000 + acres to 5,000 would mean that people and families who could lose their jobs with the WMSC may be out of work for a long time or even lose their jobs permanently. This would be devastating to families, our communities and our local economy” said Dwayne Walker, Future Forest partner.

“Since the very beginning of the WMSC we’ve honored a carefully balanced social license that supports restoration-based industries and job creation.  We’re concerned that we’re losing support from our federal partners for this approach.  Many jobs and businesses were created or grew and many acres of restoration were achieved as a result of that partnership,” said Rob Davis, Future Forest partner.  “Unless the USFS budgets can be stretched further or new approaches developed to ensure that promised restoration-based wood is made available, the closing of many businesses and mass layoffs in communities surrounding the White Mountains is inevitable.” added Davis.

Prior to the WMSC, there was virtually no restoration occurring on the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest or anywhere in the Southwestern US.  The WMSC is the first large scale Forest Service stewardship contract in the nation. Awarded in 2004, Future Forest, a local restoration company who won the bid on the WMSC, was charged with creating infrastructure and implementing restoration on 150,000 acres of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (ASNF) over 10 years.  Over the last six and a half years, the WMSC has completed work on more than 49,000 acres and has successfully developed new markets for wood residue – all   during one of the most severe economic downturns leading to the most depressed wood products industry seen in many decades. The WMSC has also been a testing ground for collaboration and innovative stewardship contracting mechanisms designed to reduce the costs of restoration.

“The White Mountain Stewardship Contract has been a nationally recognized, precedent-setting example of collaboratively supported, ecologically appropriate restoration,” said Ethan Aumack, Director of Restoration Programs for the Grand Canyon Trust. “Its success is critical to the economies of northeastern Arizona, and lessons learned will be critical as we work to accelerate landscape-scale restoration through the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI).  

“The stewardship contract has tried and tested many of the components of the long-term contract anticipated to restore the forests of northern Arizona. What many people may not realize is that 4FRI never would have happened without the WMSC, its partnerships and its solutions” said Davis.

Under the most optimistic timelines implementation of the 4FRI cannot begin for 2 or more years due to the time necessary to develop and build the additional production facilities to handle the higher volumes of restoration-based wood made available through a future landscape-scale contract.   Moreover, to ensure that cost-saving measures are effective in making the scaled up restoration program affordable, newly developed and tested efficiency measures for planning and administration of landscape scale restoration will be necessary.

“While the 4FRI is a much larger initiative in theory, spanning treatment over all four forests in Arizona over the next 20 to 30 years, without ground treatment starting for another  2 to 3 years, it doesn’t help the 200 plus workers with the WMSC who may be out of their job tomorrow.” said Walker.

Some solutions to ensure continued success of the WMSC and provide an effective transition to the long-term landscape scale 4FRI include:

• Increased efficiencies for planning, marking trees, and agency administration that could make the existing budget levels  fund more than the current 5000 acre restoration limit;
• Development of innovative “best value” stewardship contracts designed to ensure that restoration wood is made available to the full array of existing White Mts. Industry;
• Development of a clear long-term planning and funding plan that would provide for consistency and predictability for existing industry while ensuring an effective transition into the larger 4FRI.

“The WMSC has had our full support since the beginning” said Todd Schulke, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Forest Service needs to step up and make good on its promises to protect large trees and provide restoration wood to the businesses that were built to implement the good forest restoration that has been agreed upon by local industry, communities, and environmentalists. If they fail to make this work for everyone they’ll be creating a train wreck for these businesses and communities.

For more information about the White Mountain Stewardship Contract visit www.futureforest.info and for more information about the wood products industry in the White Mountains, visit www.nawpa.org.

The U.S. Chief of Forest Services awards Arizona’s Four Forest Initiative an additional $1 million, bringing the total federal funding for Arizona to $3 million. Last month, Governor Jan Brewer received news that Arizona was granted $2 million from the U.S. Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration projects.  

The initiative is located on the Apache-Sitegreaves, Kaibab, Coconino and Tonto National forests.

“The Four Forests Restoration Initiative stands out as a national-caliber model collaborative effort to accelerate forest restoration across northern Arizona with strong social, industry, and science support,” said Governor Brewer. “It will create much-needed jobs in rural Arizona and help bolster rural economic growth now and into the future. I would like to thank the Arizona Forest Health Council (FHC) for their leadership in this effort by helping bring the appropriate stakeholders together and vetting the proposal.”

The committee for the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) recently met to discuss how the $3 million in federal funding will be used. The breakdown includes $1 million in road work for NEPA and $1.1 million in sales preparation. The remaining  $9 hundred-thousand going to weed treatment as well as species, wildlife and geological analysis, surveys and monitoring.

“Everyone is excited for the much needed $3 million in federal funding. It will allow us to get started on the research and road work needed for the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) before we begin the ground work for the forest treatment,” said Arizona Forest Health Council Co-Chair Molly Pitts.  

The purpose of the 4FRI initiative is to accelerate the ecological restoration of 2.4 million acres of ponderosa pine forest over a 20 to 30 year period in northern Arizona’s national forests.  The initiative is expected to serve as a model to restore ecosystems across the West, setting our forests and economies on a path of recovery and leaving future generations with healthy landscapes.   “While the recent funding is extremely welcome, it is only the small portion of what is needed to sustain resilient forests in Arizona, protect communities from wildfire and to revitalize the wood industry,” said Arizona Forest Health Council Co-Chair Molly Pitts.

In addition to this recent funding, the U.S. forest service currently funds the White Mountain Stewardship Project in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.  The 10-year contract was developed in 2004 partially as a result of the Rodeo-Chediski fire. Under the WMSC, Future Forest is charged with managing the reduction of tree density of 5,000-25,000 acres of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest per year.  “The White Mountain Stewardship and the 4FRI are important for so many reasons. They will not only help keep our forests healthy and safe, but will also develop a sustainable economy by creating hundreds, possibly thousands of jobs in northern Arizona,” said Future Forest Partner Rob Davis. “The White Mountain Stewardship project is a perfect example of how the value of benefits far outweighs the cost of restoration.”  The project has created/preserved more than 300 jobs since its inception. Along with these jobs, the wood residue collected has been used in large part for renewable thermal energy in the form of wood pellets, heating hundreds of thousands of homes throughout the country.

Arizona is one of nine states to receive funding for the U.S. Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration projects. They were selected based upon the recommendations of a 15-member Advisory Committee.

Additional information about the program can be found at: http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/CFLR/.  For more information about the White Mountain Stewardship project visit www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/stewardship/ , www.futureforest.info or follow us at www.twitter.com/whitemtnsteward .

Recent forest fires near Flagstaff in the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests are key reminders of a dire need and the true benefits to restoring Arizona’s National Forests. As smoke settles over the skyline of Flagstaff, many residents of Arizona feel the urgency for the 4FRI, the largest forest restoration initiative ever attempted, to receive a firm long-term commitment and associated funding from the forest service. “Our forests are overstocked and dangerous. It is imperative that we take proactive measures to ensure our forests are cared for, and that our communities are protected,” said Todd Schulke, Four Forest Restoration steering committee member.  

The overall objective of the 4FRI is to treat approximately 1 million acres of ponderosa pines by thinning and harvesting mainly small diameter trees under a number of 10-year contracts. This process could take up to 20 to 30 years as contracts are awarded presupposing that the Contracting Authority is extended. This would yield up to 8 to 10 million CCF (100 cubic feet) of wood fiber. The rate of treatments under the first contract is anticipated to be a minimum of 30,000 acres per year over a ten-year contract period. Areas proposed for treatment are scattered across four forests – Tonto, Kaibab, Coconino, and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. The initiative will improve the way our national forests are managed – protecting communities from wildfires, enhancing forest health and revitalizing the wood products businesses. It is expected to create more than 600 jobs in the region.

“While fire has always helped shape the land, today’s fires are not those of the past. They are often hotter, more destructive and more dangerous to fight. One reason for the difference is that many of today’s forests have unprecedented levels of flammable materials including: dense thickets of small trees, underbrush, needles and leaves,” said Molly Pitts, Co-Chairman of the Governor’s Forest Health Council, and Executive Director of Northern Arizona Wood Products Association. “Before settlement of the West, fire was a natural part of a healthy forest, acting as nature’s housekeeper by cleaning up the dead and dying debris. However, with the onset of fire suppression, the open park-like forests have become incredibly dense with woody material.”  

The collaborative restoration effort, with members of the US Department of Agriculture, legislators, scientists, environmentalists and agencies, was formed more than a year ago. The ambitious initiative is modeled after the White Mountain Stewardship Contract (WMSC), which was awarded to Future Forest LLC of Pinetop, AZ back in 2004 by the USDA forest service. The 10-year White Mountain Stewardship contract was developed partially as a result of the Rodeo-Chediski fire in 2002, the worst forest fire in Arizona’s recorded history, scorching almost ½ million acres of land and destroying more than 400 homes. The White Mountain Stewardship Contract is the first and still the largest forest service stewardship contract in the nation. Under the WMSC, Future Forest is charged with managing the reduction of tree density of 150,000 acres of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest of the 10-year term.  The WMSC project has created/preserved more than 300 jobs since its inception. Along with these jobs, the wood residue collected has been used in large part for renewable energy in the form of wood pellets.

“This 4FRI initiative is important for so many reasons. It will not only help keep our forests healthy and safe, but will also develop a sustainable economy by creating hundreds of jobs in the region,” said Future Forest Partner Rob Davis. “The White Mountain Stewardship project is a perfect example of how the value of benefits far outweighs the cost of restoration.”

For more information about the Four Forest Restoration Initiative and the White Mountain Stewardship project visit www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/stewardship/ , www.futureforest.info or follow us at www.twitter.com/whitemtnsteward .

June 18^th marks the eighth anniversary of the devastating Rodeo-Chediski fire, the worst forest fire in Arizona’s recorded history. In June of 2002, a raging fire scorched more than 467,000 acres of forest land and destroyed more than 400 homes in east-central Arizona.  In 2004, partially as a result of the wildfire, the USDA Forest Service awarded Future Forest LLC with the White Mountain Stewardship Contract (WMSC). The 10-year Stewardship Contract is the first and is still the largest forest service stewardship contract in the nation. Under the WMSC, Future Forest is charged with managing the reduction of tree density within  150,000 acres of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest over the 10-year term of the contract as directed by the USFS.  The project is designed to restore the forest to more natural density levels, protect surrounding communities from the threat of wildfires and develop new markets for wood residue to improve the local economies in northeastern Arizona.  

Since the project’s inception, the collaborative effort has preserved and/or created more than 300 jobs in the local communities. Along with these jobs, the wood residue collected during the thinning, has been used, in large part, for renewable energy in the form of Wood Pellets. These wood pellets, produced by Forest Energy located in Show Low, are sold in big box stores, such as Home Depots, Costco, Ace stores and Lowes as well as many independent hearth products dealers throughout the west and southwest; including California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. These wood pellets create a clean alternative energy source to tens of thousands of homes in the Southwest and hundreds of thousands across the country. The pellets are also being utilized by commercial buildings for heating, including the Eagar Town Hall which is heated by a boiler that uses only wood pellets. “This stewardship project is a win, win solution for everyone. We remove smaller diameter ponderosa pines which act as fuel for a wildfire and leave the larger trees giving them room to grow and thrive,” said Future Forest Partner Dwayne Walker. “So, in essence we are helping sustain a healthy forest and in the process, providing green products and supporting the economies of two of the poorest counties in Arizona.”

Recently, a collaborative effort with members of the US Department of Agriculture, legislators, scientists, environmentalists and agencies has been formed to develop the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), an ambitious initiative modeled after the White Mountain Stewardship project.  The goal is to restore four of Arizona’s National forests; the Tonto, Coconino, Kaibab and Apache-Sitgreaves. The Initiative will improve the way our national forests are managed – protecting our communities from wildfires, enhancing forest health and revitalizing wood products businesses. It will create at least 600 jobs in the region.

Last week, Arizona Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, supporters of the Four Forests Restoration Initiative and two senior U.S. Department of Agriculture officials toured White Mountain Stewardship sites near Pinetop-Lakeside to see the past progress and discuss what needs to take place over the next 18 months to continue the WMSC and implement the four forest initiative.  “During this tough economy, the Four Forests Restoration Initiative will get folks back to work in Greater Arizona without relying on taxpayer money. At the same time, it will reduce the fuel for fires and help fire fighters keep us safe – something that is on everyone’s minds as we head into the heart of wildfire season,” said Rep. Kirkpatrick. “We need to take advantage of this opportunity to develop our economy, benefit the environment and safeguard our small towns.”

“We’re happy that our legislators see the importance of forest restoration and are looking to the White Mountain Stewardship project as a model for future forest restoration initiatives,” said Future Forest Partner Rob Davis. “We are hopeful that the folks in Washington D.C. will see the importance of supporting such projects in our national forests.”

For more information about the White Mountain Stewardship project visit www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/stewardship/, www.futureforest.info or follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/whitemtnsteward.