Australia: federal bushfire research center loses funding

The federal government of Australia will stop funding bushfire research. The Bushfire Co-operative Research Centre has never received continuous annual funding but has been provided funds on a project by project basis. Shutting down the Centre would be similar to the United States government closing the Fire Sciences Laboratories in Missoula and Riverside.

Here is an excerpt from an article in the Canberra Times:

…The ACT government is frustrated at the move to cut off money for the Bushfire Co-operative Research Centre, when bushfires are not completely understood and continue to take lives and damage property.

The centre’s chief executive, Gary Morgan, warned that fires would get worse as the climate changed.

Investigators from the Melbourne-based Bushfire CRC are being dispatched this week to study recent fires near Yass and Goulburn.

The centre is funded on a project-by-project basis by the Commonwealth, with funding also from state and territory governments, as well as universities and other partners.

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell criticised the federal government’s decision to stop funding the centre.

”This reckless cut makes no sense given the extent of the bushfire damage this summer here in NSW and right around the country,” he said on Sunday. ”There can be absolutely no doubt advances in bushfire-fighting technology saved homes and lives during the recent bushfire crises.”

He said the centre’s work had included raising understanding of extreme fire behaviour, better protecting firefighters and improving prescribed burning strategies.

The centre was set up after major Canberra and Sydney fires 10 years ago and assisted Victoria’s royal commission after Black Saturday.

Thanks go out to Dick

Elk and bison in Wind Cave National Park

Elk in Wind Cave National Park

It was a beautiful day in the Black Hills Saturday so I drove into Wind Cave National Park. The elk and bison seemed to be enjoying the warmish weather (40 degrees) and sunshine.

Elk in Wind Cave National Park

The little guy below approached my truck. I assumed he wanted to either inspect it for road salt that he could lick off, or might want to use it as a scratching post, so I moved forward about 50 feet. He followed, so I moved again, and he came along again. I blew my horn thinking it might scare him away. It startled him and he froze, but then the rest of the group, about 30 bison, started walking toward me, and I, uh, suddenly remembered something I needed to do and left the area.

Bison in Wind Cave National Park

 

All photos are by Bill Gabbert, and protected by copyright.

Update about President Obama’s visit to Waldo Canyon Fire

President Obama at Waldo Canyon Fire
President Barack Obama views fire damage with firefighters and elected officials at the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 29, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza; click to enlarge)

When we posted the article about President Obama visiting the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs July 29, 2012, we searched for photos of the President meeting with wildland firefighters, but only found pictures of him with structural firefighters… until today when we ran across the photo above.

The fire burned 18,247 acres and destroyed 346 homes.

New Mexico: bill introduced to transfer National Forests and BLM land to the state

A bill has been introduced in the New Mexico state legislature that would attempt to transfer ownership of the National Forests and Bureau of Land Management lands in New Mexico to the state. Representative Yvette Herrell, R-Alamogordo, and Senator Richard C. Martinez, D-Espanola believe this would increase timber harvesting and decrease the number of wildfires.

Here is an excerpt from an article at HispanicBusiness.com:

“In my home of Otero County, we would greatly benefit from this act as it has the potential to allow for a renewal of the timber industry,” Herrell said. “A healthy timber industry, managed responsibly by New Mexicans, would not only help our economy by creating a large number of jobs, but it would also help to protect our watersheds and keep our forests as livable habitat for all wildlife. Additionally, by responsibly thinning our overgrown forests, we can help decrease the devastation of wildfires. As it is currently, the federal government has logging restrictions that keep our forests overgrown, creating a hazardous environment. When a fire starts, the overgrowth serves as kindling, creating a massive forest fire that threatens the safety of our homes and communities.”

Herrell said it is time to put an end to the wildland fire danger.

The legislation is similar to the Transfer of Public Lands Act enacted last year in Utah. But an analysis by the Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel cautioned lawmakers and the governor that the act would interfere with Congress’ power to dispose of public lands. The review noted that any attempt by Utah to enforce the requirement would have a high probability of being declared unconstitutional.

Staff in the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office normally reviews proposed legislation.

“This bill does not show up on our public records site yet,” Phil Sisneros, director of communications for the AG’s office said Thursday. “That means either it is still being reviewed or it has not come to us for analysis.”

Utah: bill withdrawn that would have restricted target shooting during high wildfire danger

A state Senator in Utah, worried that her proposed legislation would enrage the gun lobby, withdrew a bill that would have allowed the state to restrict target shooting on state-owned lands due to fire danger. Here is an excerpt from an article in the Deseret News:

Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, said she is a gun owner who had no intention of interfering with anyone’s Second Amendment rights.

So when sparks were poised to fly over her legislative proposal empowering the state forester to restrict target shooting on state-owned lands due to fire danger, she backed off.

Dayton told her colleagues Friday on the floor of the Utah Senate she is not sure her bill, SB120, will be addressed this legislative session because she wants it to get a full airing before the public.

“They deserve a right to have their voices heard, especially those people who oppose the bill,” Dayton said afterward. “Gun issues are a touchy subject right now. As a gun owner, I understand that.”

Because of the relentless wave of wildfires — some started by target shooting — that burned through thousands of acres of state-owned land last year, State Forester Dick Buehler enacted a host of restrictions last July.

Some of those included bans on types of ammunition, while others shut down target shooting altogether in specific areas of Summit, Davis, Utah and Cache counties.

Because there was some question about the state forester’s ability to enact such a ban — pro-gun groups said the move was not only unwarranted but illegal — Dayton sought to have that authority clarified in state law.

In October, 2012 when we wrote about the increasing number of fires started by target shooters using exploding targets, we found 10 fires started by these devices in Utah over a 5-month period last year. One of them burned over 5,500 acres.

UPDATE February 3, 2013: The Salt Lake Tribune has more details about the death of the bill that would have limited target shooting during periods of high fire danger.

How climate change may affect wildfires

Changes in area burned w-1 degree C increase in global temp
From National Academy of Sciences. Map of changes in area burned for a 1ºC increase in global average temperature, shown as the percentage change relative to the median annual area burned during 1950-2003. Results are aggregated to ecoprovinces (Bailey, 1995) of the West. Changes in temperature and precipitation were aggregated to the ecoprovince level. Climate-fire models were derived from NCDC climate division records and observed area burned data following methods described in Littell et al. (2009). Source: Figure from Rob Norheim.

Most of us have heard the predictions that climate change and higher temperatures will increase the number of acres burned in wildfires. But I experienced a Holy Crap moment when I saw the map above that illustrates where those changes will occur and by how much. According to a National Academy of Sciences paper titled Climate stabilization targets: emissions, concentrations, and impacts over decades to millennia, a 1°C increase in global average temperature will cause the annual area burned in the western United States to rise from 74 percent to 656 percent relative to the median annual area burned during 1950-2003.

Climate change is happening now, as we told you on January 8, 2013 (and in other articles tagged “climate change”):

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is reporting that last year was the hottest on record for the contiguous United States, shattering CRUSHING by a wide margin the previous record set in 1998. The average temperature of 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit was 1 degree above the previous record and 3.2 degrees higher than the average for the 20th century. That is a huge difference.

Average size of wildfires by decadeWhat is wrong with this picture: fires are getting larger, and budgets for fire suppression are decreasing. If the predictions are correct, the number of acres burned will continue to increase even more. The people that beg for our votes and then get sent to congress need to not just write strongly-worded letters about the shortage of fire suppression resources, they need to realize that they hold the purse strings and it is their job to actually take action by approving budgets and passing legislation, instead of what happened in December. Letters are meaningless, meant to be a smoke screen to obscure the reality that little is being accomplished.

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Below is a brief version of the paper referenced above:

Climate Stabilization Targets, Report in Brief