January 2023 – December 2023
A nature-based solution to restore and adapt western US dry forests to climate change
“Nature effectively “managed” forests through millennia of major climate changes and episodes of natural disturbances (e.g., wildfires, droughts, bark-beetle outbreaks), so why would nature not now be best able to restore and adapt forests to climate change?” Read about our paper as William L. Baker, Chad T. Hanson, and Dominick A. DellaSala address this question with a focus on lower-elevation dry forests of the western U.S.
The Yaak Valley Is Ground Zero for Montana’s Environmental Future “This is a mature and old-growth forest… This area is globally important; it really needs to be part of a climate refuge as a national example, as a legacy for the planet and future generations.” – Dominick A. DellaSala, Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage
Webinar: Forest Biomass, Oregon and Beyond
In this webinar, Dominick A. DellaSala and Rita Vaughan Frost explore the just transition from fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable energy, and the realities and tradeoffs we need to understand.
Guest Opinion: The Real Triple Crown of Economic, FireFighting, and Environmental Benefits
Read the critique of Oregon Senator Ron Wyden’s bill which promotes logging on federal lands, and that nearly pushed rural communities and ecosystems to the brink of collapse decades ago.
– Dominick A. Dellasala, Ph.D. and Rick Martinson, Ph.D.
Forest Protection Forum: Have Western Fire Suppression and Megafire Active Management Approaches Become a Contemporary Sisyphus?
See Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala’s presentation on the war on fire & related Megafire Active Management Approaches (MAMA) as climate chaos rages on.
Guest Column: Are we taking the wrong approach on wildfires?“The Labor Day fires of 2020 took out half my town of Talent and nearby Phoenix. As I stood in the rubble, I was overwhelmed with anger about how this didn’t need to happen.” – Dominick A. DellaSala, Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage
It’s Time to Protect the Northern Rockies
“This is an important time for the Black Ram Climate Refuge and the Northern Rockies … With climate chaos spinning super-charged hurricanes, massive flooding, heat domes, and even fires in Hawaii, we all need to be part of the solution.” – Domick Dellasala, Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage
Why people rally around a rainforest – in England Fully 20% of Britain’s land surface is thought to host the right kind of climate for temperate rainforest, and yet a mere 1% is still covered by this luxuriant habitat. Dominick A. DellaSala, Wild Heritage’s Chief Scientist, on logging young growth trees: “… we really need to scale up the level of protection and restoration in these areas, otherwise we have so much to lose.”
U.S. Forest Service awards grants to boost Tongass Logging The U.S. Forest Service awarded grants this summer that could revitalize the logging industry in the Tongass National Forest. Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala, Wild Heritage’s Chief Scientist, on logging young growth trees: “… we need timber and we can be smarter about where we get it from, how we do it.”
Study links tree genetics to biodiversity patterns A new study offers a model for reforestation efforts in cottonwood tree communities in the Southwest. Researchers linked tree genetic variation to community biodiversity at the continental scale.
Podcast: What’s going on with old growth forests?
Kate and Aaron are joined by Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala, Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage, a project of the Earth Island Institute, to talk about the Biden administration’s efforts to protect old growth and mature forests and reducing wildfire risk through forest management.
Biden’s Forest Service Is Dragging Its Feet On Protecting Ancient Trees From LoggingCritics say it is time for the White House to make demands of the Forest Service instead of letting the agency advance pro-logging policies.
Billions are being spent to turn the tide on the US West’s wildfires. It won’t be enough
“Insect infestation, drought stress, and all of that is related to the climate,” said Wild Heritage chief scientist Dominick A. DellaSalla. “I don’t think you can get out of it by thinning.”
US inventory: old forests cover area larger than CaliforniaThe Biden administration has identified more than 175,000 square miles of old growth and mature forests on U.S. government lands.
Experts on old-growth forests review the federal inventory of older forests
Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala, chief scientist at Wild Heritage, and Dr. Richard Birdsey at Woodwell Climate Research Center comprehensively review what they find and do not find in the inventory.
Kentucky Residents Angered by U.S. Forest Service Logging Plan That Targets Mature TreesBiden pledged to protect old-growth trees, but proposed clear-cutting in national forests collides with climate policy.
U.S. Forest Service awards grants to boost Tongass LoggingThe U.S. Forest Service awarded grants this summer that could revitalize the logging industry in the Tongass National Forest. Dominick A. DellaSala, Wild Heritage’s Chief Scientist on logging young growth trees: “… we need timber and we can be smarter about where we get it from, how we do it.”
Study links tree genetics to biodiversity patternsA new study offers a model for reforestation efforts in cottonwood tree communities in the Southwest. Researchers linked tree genetic variation to community biodiversity at the continental scale.
Podcast: What’s going on with old growth forests?
Kate and Aaron are joined by Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala, Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage, a project of the Earth Island Institute, to talk about the Biden administration’s efforts to protect old growth and mature forests and reducing wildfire risk through forest management.
Biden’s Forest Service Is Dragging Its Feet On Protecting Ancient Trees From LoggingCritics say it is time for the White House to make demands of the Forest Service instead of letting the agency advance pro-logging policies.
Billions are being spent to turn the tide on the US West’s wildfires. It won’t be enough
“Insect infestation, drought stress, and all of that is related to the climate,” said Wild Heritage chief scientist Dominick A. DellaSalla. “I don’t think you can get out of it by thinning.”
Experts on old-growth forests review the federal inventory of older forests
Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala, chief scientist at Wild Heritage, and Dr. Richard Birdsey at Woodwell Climate Research Center comprehensively review what they find and do not find in the inventory.
Kentucky Residents Angered by U.S. Forest Service Logging Plan That Targets Mature Trees
Biden pledged to protect old-growth trees, but proposed clear-cutting in national forests collides with climate policy.