BANFF Tickets on Sale Now
BANFF Tickets on Sale Now
The National Park Service plans to conduct what it calls “hazardous fuel reduction” across nearly 1,000 acres of Parkway land for the first time in history.
The work, which resembles salvage logging and could last for years, is set to begin in August. Driving through, you might spot a bobcat – not the kind you’d hope to see on a family vacation, but the kind with a diesel engine.
Fire science tells us that dead wood larger than 8 inches in diameter takes around10,000 hours of sustained drought to lose most of its moisture, meaning the massive downed trees far from roads are poor candidates for ignition. While large logs left to decompose actually absorb moisture and provide habitat for wildlife, the smaller snags and fine debris closer to the forest edge pose the real fire risk. But the plan, as currently designed, sidelines the local experts, scientists, and conservation organizations who know this landscape best.
Logging roads and landings would compact hillsides, increase erosion, and create severe gaps
that invite invasive species to spread. In a landscape still destabilized from Helene’s landslides,
bringing heavy equipment and creating more disturbance has real consequences in addition to
driving tourism away. Even if we were not given a real opportunity to weigh in on this decision,
we can still speak up.
The details of this project are still being finalized. MountainTrue and other regional conservation
organizations have been pushing for a seat at the table and asking that local experts and
community members be included in shaping the plan. This is the kind of collaborative process
the NPS should welcome, not shut out.
