Yosemite national park trees are reduced - for this very good reason
Park managers say that this painful process will be beneficial in the long term.
Yosemite National Park is an essential destination for travelers, having been preserved for the first time in 1864 thendesignated as a national park In 1890. Visitors can take advantage of nearly 1,200 miles of beautiful valleys, meadows, waterfalls and significant redwoods. Those who flock to the park for trees could be horrified to learn that Yosemite officials have recently started to cut it, but it is not for the reason why you expect. Read the rest to find out why some trees are on blocking and how it could help Yosemite in the long term.
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There have been ongoing forest fires in Yosemite this summer.
Forest fires are one of the largest threats to national parks, and two fires this summer - Washburn fire and oak fire - forced parts of the Yosemite National Park to close and residents nearby for be evacuated. Washburn's fire has also spread to the famous Mariposa Grove, where many giant sequences are in the trade, but fortunately, this fire is currently91% content, according to an incident report. TheOak fireHowever, started on July 22 and is only 26% content.
Officials remain uncertain of what caused the fires, but humans are suspected of having caused the Washburn fire, the incident report said. Given serious damage, forest fires may have, in particular in the middle of the continuous threat of climate change and drought - the experts have set a plan in motion, and this may seem counter -intuitive at first.
The reduction of trees and the combustion of trees is beneficial, according to park officials.
AccordingThe New York Times, Yosemite managers cut the trees toForest fire control, which is part of a wider initiative to protect the forests of the park.
The reduction of trees (also known as "slaughter") can be useful, as are intentional burns, say those responsible. Studies have shown that "moderately hot fires" - but not those that are too hot - have several advantages and promote biodiversity,The New York Timesreported. The basic samples of Yosemite trees even show layers of pollen and ashes, which suggests that the fires have been intentionally used throughout history.
By slaughtering and cleaning the trees, Yosemite officials declare that they take proactive measures against forest fires. Trees over 20 inches in diameter are cut, just like dead trees, and dead and fallen trees are also removed from the ground, according toThe Summary of the NPS Project. The elimination and slimming process "reduces post-security fuels and after the fire" in Merced and Tuolumne groves, summary states, and those responsible say that it must be done, even if the idea of cutting these trees can be overwhelming.
"It hurts people's hearts", "Cicely Muldoon, the superintendent at Yosemite National Park, saidTime. "But we need to use all the tools at our disposal to save the forests and save the park and restore a healthy ecosystem and ensure people's safety."
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The project attracted backlash.
While Yosemite officials say that the slaughter of trees will make the park more resilient, a trial is now on the way, pressing the break on the deletion process. Led by Earth Island Institute, the trial wantsStop the cup and slimming In Yosemite, by SFGATE, and maintains that the procedures for examining the 1969 law on environmental policy and the law on administrative procedure have not been properly followed.AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB
In aopen letter to the presidentJoe Biden, those behind the trial alleys that clarification is a disguise towards disguise.Chad Hanson, PHD, principal director and ecologist of the John Muir project, a subsidiary of the Earth Island Institute, maintains that largely slimming forests are in fact more sensitive to forest fires, no less. And instead of interfere, he thinks that humans should let nature take their course.
"Natural processes are supposed to be the main approach," said HansonThe New York Times. "Not chain saws and bulldozers and clear cuts."
Other experts do not agree.
The New York TimesStresses that Hanson himself has his fair share of criticism, and other environmentalists and civil servants support the process of clarification of the forests.
"Most of us are absolutely convinced that it is not only a good thing to do, but is absolutely necessary,"Battle John, professor of forest ecology at the University of California in Berkeley, saidThe New York TimesOn the “proactively” forests of slimming and burning.
According to Muldoon, the abolition of fires over several years has thicken the forests, and the fires become so hot that the firefighters say that it is like "fighting the hellish storms", theTime reported. Muldoon notes that this is why measures must be taken by cut.
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Park managers also examined criticism of for -profit logging.
In terms of commercial journalization against slaughter,Garrett Dickman, forest environmentalist at Yosemite National Park, toldThe New York Times That only six of the 350 trucks were sent to a sawmill, and the remaining trucks were used in power plants to produce electricity. In addition, Dickman noted that the cost of loading trucks, between $ 1,200 and $ 1,400, is much more than the profit of $ 60 made on 25 tonnes of equipment.
And while theTime declares that the project only applies 1 percent of Yosemite forests, Muldoon also discussed the idea of leaving the park "Impamant for the enjoyment of future generations" - a crucial component stated in theOrganic act of 1916, which created the National Park Service.
"If we learned something, it is because we have touched these lands forever - humanity has - and doing nothing is really to do something," she told the newspaper.