Retired US Forest Service Ecologist Maret Pajutee tells the story of how the Forest Service began work with one of its fiercest critics to find a new level of collaboration and whether or not those lessons are being carried forward.
The forests of eastern Oregon are diverse and beautiful. Old growth ponderosa pine in savanna-like settings; mixed conifer forests with Engelmann spruce, true firs, lodgepole pine, and western larch; vast landscapes of high desert with scattered juniper trees; and stands of glistening quaking aspen are all important components of healthy eastside forests. Of the more than 10 million acres of National Forest lands in eastern Oregon, many have been seriously altered over the past 100+ years from aggressive logging, fire suppression, livestock grazing, and road building.
Could people with diverse viewpoints agree on a way to do that restoration work while protecting carbon-storing old and mature trees and important wildlife habitat? Discover the story of the Glaze Meadow Forest project outside Sisters, Oregon, where Oregon Wild, The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, the Forest Service, and other partners attempted to do just that. It took a leap of faith, leaders willing to take a risk, and adopting new research findings.
