The dry forests that dominate Eastern Oregon are getting some new attention, and we hope the buzz reaches the circles that matter — the ones controlling the purse strings.

The latest push comes from a study done by scientists of the Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy, published in the peer-reviewed journal “Forest Ecology and Management.” The results indicate more than 11 million acres of dry forest in Oregon and Washington – including the bug- and fire-prone stands right here in Grant County – need help in the form of restoration.

The Forest Service issued a release listing these key points from the study:

• The need is big. About 40 percent of all forests within the study – 11.8 million acres including federal, state, and private forests – are in need of restoration. Restoration can include disturbances such as thinning and burning and or time to grow larger and older trees.

• The need is immediate for restoration thinning and burning on about 9.5 million acres.

• Thinning and burning alone cannot restore our forests. Following thinning and burning, 5.7 million acres will subsequently need time to grow larger, older trees.

• An additional 2.3 million acres of forest land simply need time to grow larger, older trees.

• Restoration needs vary greatly with vegetation type and landscape context.

• Ongoing maintenance, such as the use of regular controlled burns, will also be necessary to sustain healthy, resilient forests.

A key finding cited in the study is that restoration efforts must be regional in scale and, as we’ve found in the Blue Mountains, they must be collaborations involving various governments, agencies and landowners.

It’s important to note that the report is not an opinion piece or philosophical tract, but is a data-driven examination of the ecological health of our forests and the kind of activity needed now and into the future. It offers a sobering look at the forests we treasure as both a resource for today and a legacy for tomorrow.

As the lead author, TNC forest ecologist Ryan Haugo, notes, “Healthy forests provide clean air and water, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, timber and jobs. This study provides a broad, landscape perspective on extensive forest restoration needs.”

This study reinforces many of the arguments pressed by proponents of active management, but its best use may be to introduce the tenets of restoration to a larger audience. That’s important as the work on our forests is too often determined not by what should be done, but by political and funding trade-offs. This report should be required reading for government and political leaders who make the decisions to fund, or cut, our programs and agencies that deal with forest health. – SC