State Forestry Helicopter Crew Honored for Rescue Mission

Nevada Division of Forestry Pilot Nick Lopes (left) and Helicopter Manager Lee Stewart (right) receive letters of appreciation from Commander Shane Yates, operations manager at Naval Air Station, Fallon, for their assistance in rescuing skiers near Heavenly, Nevada.

Nevada Division of Forestry Pilot Nick Lopes (left) and Helicopter Manager Lee Stewart (right) receive letters of appreciation from Commander Shane Yates, operations manager at Naval Air Station, Fallon, for their assistance in rescuing skiers near Heavenly, Nevada.

MINDEN, Nev. — When a skier went missing from Heavenly Ski Resort on March 3, an air-based search was determined to be the best way to look for the individual in the mountainous terrain.

Within an hour of being called out to the mission, the Nevada Division of Forestry’s helicopter crew spotted the skier. The skier was not in a position to be rescued on foot because of heavy snow, so Fallon Naval Air Station personnel, who were also part of the search and rescue mission, recovered the skier from its helicopter.

Meanwhile, NDF’s crew spotted two more skiers, who also appeared to be in trouble and out of resort’s boundary. Contact was made with the two additional skiers, and it was determined that because of heavy snow and hypothermia setting in, that naval ground crews would rescue the skiers.

NDF’s air operations provide search and rescue support, though the helicopter crew’s primary mission is initial attacks on wildland fires. The crew averages 100 hours of flight time 35 days a year helping to fight wildfires.

Division of Forestry, Spring Creek High School and FFA Tree Sale

ELKO, Nev. — The Nevada Division of Forestry, Spring Creek High School, and the Silver Sage FFA Chapter are once again teaming up to bring northeastern Nevadans a wide selection of conservation trees and shrubs at reasonable costs.

There are 21 different species of shrubs, deciduous trees and evergreen trees available. Tree and shrub seedlings range from $2.25 to $3.75 each, depending on the size of the seedling and container. Plants are for conservation purposes for properties of at least one acre in size.

Plants are sold on a pre-order basis only. The deadline to place a pre-order is May 7, 2009. Pre-orders are to be picked up on either May 15 or 16 at the Spring Creek High School greenhouse, nine miles southeast on the Lamoille Highway. To receive an order form and a list of the plants with associated costs, please contact:

Ryan Shane
Nevada Division of Forestry
911 Falcon Lane
Elko, NV 89801
(775) 738-3454

rshane@forestry.nv.gov

Order forms may also be picked up at the following locations:

• Spring Creek High School
• Spring Creek Association Office
• NRCS Elko Office
• NV Cooperative Extension Offices
• NDF Spring Creek Fire Station #24
• NDF Regional Headquarters in Elko
• NDF Conservation Camps (Carlin and Wells)

Plant materials are from the NDF nursery in Washoe Valley and are selected for their adaptability to the region’s soils and climate. The plants come to Elko as container stock, making them easy to take home and transplant.

Officials try to avert Tahoe beetle infestation (RGJ)

Foresters have issued a “call to action” to prevent further spread of a major bark beetle epidemic, with targeted land including the Lake Tahoe area and other parts of the Sierra.

About 2.4 million acres of “high priority” at risk of being overrun by beetles have been identified for potential treatment by the Council of Western State Foresters. Much of the land is in the Sierra and near communities where widespread tree mortality could produce extreme fire danger.

Read the complete story at the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Western State Foresters Support Call to Action in New Bark Beetle Publication

 

Bark beetle in Tahoe-area forest.

DENVER — The Council of Western State Foresters (CWSF) supports the ‘call to action’ in the recent Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC) publication, The Western Bark Beetle Assessment: A Framework for Cooperative Forest Stewardship- 2nd Edition. As the bark beetle epidemic continues to decimate western forests the WFLC updated the 2-year old report so that information can be utilized now for quick on-the-ground action. The report includes new information on the importance of trees in storing carbon, progress over the past five years and a call to action.

Currently, over 7 million acres of western forests contain dead or dying trees due to bark beetle outbreaks. According to the recent assessment, approximately 22 million additional acres of western forests, on both public and private land, are likely to experience significant (over 25%) tree mortality from bark beetles over the next 15 years.