By Rod Nichols

Photo: Air tankers fly low and slow over rugged terrain, dropping their red-dyed retardant on hotspots to slow a fire’s spread. This buys time for ground firefighters to arrive on scene and engage the fire directly. Photo courtesy of the Mail Tribune

   Effective, affordable fire protection is essential to keeping working forests working. And forest landowners know that time is of the essence when a wildfire breaks out. Catching a fire while still small can greatly reduce costs and prevent large-scale damage.

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By Phil Aune, General Chair

This year’s SAF National Convention will be held in our backyard at the Spokane Convention Center in Spokane, Wash. The Inland Empire Section and the National Office of the SAF are developing a first-rate event that you won’t want to miss.

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Celebrating a Century of Forestry in the Inland Northwest

In 1911 the Priest River Experimental Forest near the town of Priest River in the Idaho panhandle was established as a base for research on tree species in the Pacific Coast forest region, principally western white pine, the prized tree species. Its establishment signaled the early importance of the Inland Northwest to the fledgling U.S. Forest Service and forestry profession. Over the years researchers such as Bob Marshall, Harry Gisborne, and Richard Bingham used the experimental forest to gather information important to the evolution of forestry practices and to the early economic and cultural development of the region and nation.

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