NashvilleHealth’s Post

Bill Frist, M.D. , insightful and necessary read for all. In British Columbia, Canada, we are now all too familiar with life changing forest fires. In 2023, the Okanagan and Shuswap regions of British Columbia experienced devastating wildfires that significantly impacted the area. These fires ravaged over 20,000 hectares of land, causing extensive damage to forests, properties, and infrastructure. The financial cost of combating the fires and dealing with the aftermath soared above $720 million in insured damages alone, placing a heavy burden on local resources and emergency services. The fires led to the evacuation of numerous communities, disruption of daily life, and a long recovery process for the affected areas, including complete loss of home or business. The environmental and economic repercussions of the 2023 wildfires will be felt for years to come. That was only one part of the whole. In 2023, more than 2.84 million hectares of forest and land burned. Local, national and federal discussions, whether publicly stated or not, recognized that prescribed burns are imperative to managing our land with the changing climate temperatures.

In the summer of 2023, the City began work on its wildfire risk reduction project on 102 hectares of land in the WUI—the area where houses and other buildings are close to, or mixed with, natural areas like forests or grasslands—southwest of Kimberley. This area, identified over 15 years ago as needing treatment, was deprioritized until it was established as Williamson’s sapsucker habitat. The forest area provides essential living conditions for the Williamson’s sapsucker, a species of woodpeckers important for biodiversity and forest ecosystem health. With FESBC’s support, the City could address this high-risk area, a known corridor for the flow of fire, and work toward effectively reducing the potential for more severe wildfires. https://lnkd.in/gN2H9BYD

“As soon as trees are put in the ground, they begin accumulating carbon...That's something we want to protect and create resilience for on a very long timeline.” -Matthew Aghai, Mast Chief Science Officer In a recent feature on KGW-TV with Kale Williams, Matthew Aghai and Kea J. Woodruff, GM of Silvaseed Company, share insights about our efforts to restore forests on land impacted by devastating wildfires. Tune in to learn how Mast: 🌲 Uses locally-sourced, diverse seed adapted to specific microclimates to promote long-term forest health and resilience  🌲 Rehabilitates severely burned areas like Oregon’s Henry Creek by restoring forests  🌲 Utilizes carbon removal credits to finance large-scale reforestation projects across the western U.S. Watch the full video👇 https://lnkd.in/gPiFeGQ2 #reforestation #carboncredits #carbonfinancing

Indigenous-led fire stewardship. The severe wildfire in Jasper National Park this July forced the displacement of 25,000 people, bringing into focus the urgent need for proactive measures. This interesting article in Nature highlights the importance of integrating proactive Indigenous-led fire stewardship to enhance forest resilience. #ClimateChange #IndigenousKnowledge #WildfirePrevention

The Idaho Salmon is on the verge of extinction at 2% of the numbers 40 years ago I experienced at Redfish Lake. Why, the 4 BLM dams on the Snakr River in Oregon that are blocking the 1600 mile migration to the Pacific and back after 3 years. Once they are extinct, their DNA will be gone forever. If the 4 dams are breached like 1,500 dams that were breached in the United States when they did more harm than good. Farmers and Idaho AG is fighting against the 4 dams removal. President Biden has allocated $millions to make the farmers whole after the dams are removed, but the decades of demonizing the Federal Government in Idaho influences the farmers Not to trust the Feds. The $millions will provide 1,000’s of jobs to build an infrastructure to replace the dams. The money has been allocated, but Idaho AG Legislators have a track record of refusing Federal funds like the $16 million to give 40,000 children a summer lunch. https://lnkd.in/ga4f-jiD The Idaho Conservation League is doing what they can to restore Salmon in the Salmon River. https://lnkd.in/gWsAVbPR https://lnkd.in/gMdh2wvQ

Scott Lemmons, The Nature Conservancy's State Director in Mississippi, has overseen the Loch Leven project since 2016. That’s when the owner, weary of repeated flooding that periodically turned the island into a giant bowl of water 12-foot deep with no drain plug, reached out to TNC for help. The solution? A box culvert, cutting through the levee and running through the island, allowing water to flow on and off gradually as the river level rises and falls. It could become a model for problem spots up and downriver. “From TNC's perspective, we’re looking for floodplain reconnection projects such as this for improved water quality,” Lemmons said. “There are wildlife habitat benefits for fish migration, spawning opportunities, migratory waterfowl, bottomland hardwood forest health – there’s a multitude of conservation benefits, including flood storage capacity. The key is keeping the water on the landscape.” Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/deSwJ4GE

Great work here by RSPB, Natural England, Environment Agency, United Utilities. A must read is what Tom Hayek of WWT says in this article, especially for those who think #dredging is the answer Tom says adding meanders into rivers - re-wiggling them - does 2 things: . 1. It alters the volume of water - the length of the river is increased, this spreads water over a wider area and allows more water to sit up in the headwaters, rather than in a pinch in towns downstream. 2. It alters the speed of water - the more structure you add to the morphology of a river, the slower the water will move down it. If it's straight, water will "fly" through, says Hayek. In the past, it was common to dredge rivers to create more capacity to cope with floods but, says Hayek, this does little to stop the root of the problem. Instead, we need slow speed and increase volume in the tributaries to create capacity here rather than creating capacity pinch points downstream. This is natural flood management at its best. 🙌🏼🙌🏼 to all involved.

The findings from this study demonstrate that prescribed fire is not just a tool for conservation and restoration efforts; it’s a game-changer in reducing wildfire damages and losses to valued resources https://lnkd.in/gPByyh85

Ongoing fires in the Pantanal have reached the highest levels since 2020, where catastrophic fires destroyed ⅓ of the wetland. Experts predict this year’s fires will be the worst in decades. “The impact is devastating. Animals are dying, wildfires are vanishing huge areas,” says Gustavo Figueirôa of SOS Pantanal. The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland, and is home to incredible wildlife. It also provides critical services, including flood protection and freshwater for the 8 million people living within and around the region and is a vast carbon store, essential to global climate regulation. Most of the Pantanal is privately owned, largely for cattle ranches. While natural fires occur in the Pantanal, the large majority are set by humans clearing their land for cattle. Agribusiness, along with the climate crisis, the expansion of monoculture, mining, road construction, and hydropower all pose massive threats to this critical wetland. There needs to be greater international support to put an end to these fires, as well as stronger legal protections to secure the Pantanal for the future. This will reduce land conversion, protect Indigenous peoples and reduce the risk of devastating wildfires. It is not too late to save it, but we cannot wait any longer. https://lnkd.in/e4BRTu8K

An important reminder of the measurable economic, environmental and social impacts of Indigenous-led savanna fire management projects, in research published today by the CSIRO. Analysis of satellite imagery showed that hotter and higher emitting late season fires had declined across nearly 3/4 of the Kimberley Region's land surface since fire was re-introduced to the landscape through carbon projects a decade ago. Ranger groups involved in projects across the region are supported by member Kimberley Land Council in establishing and running the projects, with profits being returned to ranger programs and communities across the region. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gHY9_ysk #carbonmarkets #climatechange #Indigenousfiremanagement #savannafiremanagement #cobenefits #integrity