Lake Tahoe was a much different place before European settlers
discovered and prospected natural resources in the basin. First the pine forest was razed
during settlement years to support the Comstock mine. Then 100 years of fire suppression
led to fire-prone firs replacing the Jeffrey pines followed by eight years of drought that
weakened these trees. As a result, dense stands and dead trees have become vulnerable to
fire. Now forest mortality is bad enough for all 2.3 million visitors annually to see.
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Lake Tahoe
has been celebrated for more than a century as one of the most beautiful lakes in the
world. But when the Washoe tribe historically summered at Lake Tahoe it was a much
different place before European settlers discovered and prospected natural resources in
the basin. First the forest
was razed during settlement years . . .
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on July 1, 1997, that at the time the Comstock
silver lode was discovered in the 19th century, Tahoe was covered in a forest of
mature,well-spaced pines. Regular low-level natural and native American-set fires kept the
forest floor clear of small trees, brush and woody debris, making it almost impossible for
big, destructive fires to get started. But the silver strike created a huge demand for
lumber. The ponderosa and Jeffrey pines were razed as a result.
Then fire-prone firs replaced the
Jeffrey pines . . .
Though large open forest lands support abundant regeneration of pine trees, the vigorous
fire suppression and "hands-off" policies replaced the presettlement method of
managing forest density and health -- so shade tolerant, fire-prone fir trees sprung up in
the already dense forests along with dead branches and brush, prompting a huge buildup of
"fuels." The U.S. Forest Service estimates forests are 82 percent denser than in
1928. Many forests today generally grow hundreds of trees per acre compared to
pre-historical conditions of 25 trees per acre.
Eight years of drought weakened
trees . . .
Already overcrowded due to a century of fire suppression, recent droughts also have made
trees vulnerable to bark beetles and disease, which have killed thousands of trees. The
Sacramento Bee reports that on the average, forest mortality at Lake Tahoe runs 15
percent. Roughly one in six trees is now dead or dying. In some areas, more than 600 trees
per acre are dead. Tree mortality in excess of 80 percent of standing volume has been
experienced in some overstocked stands.
So dense stands and dead trees
have become vulnerable to fire . . .
This dense undergrowth and increased tree mortality, combined with increasingly taller
layers of intermediate vegetation has turned western forests into deadly time bombs.
Now millions of tourists carry
lots of matches . . .
In addition to approximately 40,000 full-time residents, a tourist population nearly the
size of Chicago currently visits the Lake Tahoe basin annually. Since a common
thunderstorm or a single vagrant match from just one of more than 2.3 million tourists
could turn the basin into a vortex of flame, the potential for loss of property and life
is higher than just about anywhere else in California.
Forest mortality bad enough for
all visitors to see . . .
The current forest mortality and fire threat crisis in the Tahoe Basin, unlike what
the Washoe tribe enjoyed more than a century ago, is visible to everyone who visits the
area. The Reno Gazette-Journal reported that even Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman,
when driving from Reno to Tahoe for a June 30 conference, said he saw a forest in serious
trouble with vast areas that are distressed. |