James Perkins has been a logger for 48 years, but something happened recently that made him recognize that things are changing for the better.
His company, Perkins Timber Harvesting, had just finished logging a project on state land next to the residential Equestrian Trails in Flagstaff.
“The people who live at Equestrian walk those trails and ride their bikes there. When we went there and started cutting, people told us, ‘We’re so glad you are here finally doing this,’” Perkins said. “A few years ago they would have been asking, ‘Why?’”
Because of the recent ferocious wildfires in Arizona, people have started to realize the importance of managing a forest.
“There has been a huge paradigm shift in the Flagstaff region” said Flagstaff Fire Department Wildland Firewise Specialist Mark Brehl.
In fact, in 2012 Flagstaff voters approved a $10 million bond to help support the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project, a partnership with the state, city and Coconino National Forest to guard against devastating wildfire and flooding after a fire.
In addition, the federal government, through the Forest Service, is involved in the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) that is striving for sustainable ecosystems and encouraging the development of businesses to do so in the Kaibab, Coconino, Apace-Sitgreaves and Tonto National Forests.
“We have been on the cusp of this for a long time, waiting for the industry to ramp up,” Brehl said. “It is a real new age in forest management and a new age in logging. We are tuned to the real needs of our forest. Our new goal is restoration.”
To that end, Brehl is pleased to share that the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Program is moving into the business of removing trees on state land to help ensure a safe and sustainable forest for the community.
Also new is the fact that these local logs will be transported to Newpac Fibre, a new mill in Garland Prairie. The trees will be removed mechanically. He said the ultimate goal is developing biomass projects that use every part of the tree down to the pine needle.
Brehl said that “back in the day,” the mission was to log the larger trees and leave the smaller ones. That created a dangerous situation in that the smaller trees grew dense and more flammable, allowing for fire to climb into the tree canopy and spread rapidly.
Today, forest managers aim for sustainable forests that are resistant to unnaturally severe wildfire. “Our intent is not to cut any of the big trees,” Brehl said. “Newpac Fibre is using the smaller material, using a part of the tree that was a total waste in the past.”
With this “ramping up” of the industry, Brehl expects to see many new jobs created for people needed to work in the mills, mechanics for machinery and those who drive trucks.
“There will be a great deal of trickle down – another benefit we will see in the area.”
Brehl is encouraged about the acceptance and understanding from the public about fire danger and what is healthy for the forests. “They understand the risk we are facing if we do nothing. The worst thing we could do is do nothing. We can sit idle, but Mother Nature won’t.” FBN
By Patty McCormac
Flagstaff Business News
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