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It used to be that extreme fire years came every six or seven years. Recently, it has been more like every two or three, said Bob Harrington, state forester for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation

Another gem by Bill Schneider:

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The Custer National Forest set up the meetings as a preliminary to its National Environmental Policy Act process. Under NEPA, the forest’s 16-member interdisciplinary team will draw up draft alternatives for consideration. Epperly hopes to have a draft by fall. The deadline to have the entire process completed is October 2008. Travel on the forest is governed by a plan crafted in 1987

There are far too many roads in the northwoods, one of the main reasons elk no longer exist there. There are a couple small heavily managed reintroduced experimental populations, but that is all.

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The DNR is asking the U.S. Forest Service to approve the emergency closure because road traffic is affecting the elks during calving season.

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For the first time ever in Southern Arizona, the Southweest Coordination Center issued a fuel and fire advisory for the area of Kolb and Snyder Roads. The intersection is choked with buffelgrass.

This is a really controversial plan as far as the conservation community is concerned. Having new wilderness would be a great thing…but at the expense of roadless areas?

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BOULDER — Jefferson County commissioners Tuesday gave some praise for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership Strategy, a conservation group and timber industry compromise plan for managing the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest, but took no action to endorse it at their commission meeting.

In a separate but potentially related action, two of the commissioners, Ken Weber and Chuck Notbohm, voted against creating any new wilderness areas within the county.

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SACRAMENTO, April 26: The Tahoe National Forest near Sacramento is running short on money for upkeep of its portable toilets and officials may have to lock the bathroom door.

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Heartwood and Kentucky Heartwood sued the Forest Service in federal court in Lexington, seeking to stop the proposed logging. The lawsuit said logging would damage the environment and harm wildlife and endangered species in the 700,000-acre (283,000-hectare) Daniel Boone National Forest in eastern Kentucky