TheVoiceOfJoyce There is no more time for fir trees in Oregon to adapt to climate warming. The drought has made .1 million of acres of fir forests disappear. The tree are dying and new insect infestations have moved in. Fir forests, under prolonged drought conditions can not be replanted. Prescribed forest burns may be necessary to save other trees from the devastation to follow. Clearly, climate change is effecting America and can no longer be ignored. The quicker we recognize our problems, the quicker we can mitigate and adapt. How much biodiversity must be lost, before we realize we need an expeditious program to tackle species loss?

Posted on by jaslvr

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/15/oregon-dead-fir-trees-conifers-climate-crisis

is stunning,” said Daniel DePinte, an aerial survey program manager with the Forest Service who led the agency’s Pacific north-west region aerial survey, noting that this year saw the highest mortality rate for firs in this area in history. These evergreen conifers are less able to survive in drought conditions than other heartier trees that line the landscapes.

He and his colleagues scanned the slopes from planes several times between June and October, detailing the devastation on digital maps. During that time, it became clear that this year would be unlike anything he had seen before. The report is still being finalized but dead trees were spotted in areas across 1.1m acres of Oregon forest. The scientists have taken to dubbing it “firmageddon”.

“The size of this is enormous,” DePinte said. “A lot of people out there think climate change is just impacting the ice caps or some low-level island out there but it is actually impacting right here in our backyard,” he added. “If this drought continues as climate change keeps on, and we continue ignoring what nature is showing us across the globe – it doesn’t bode well at all.”

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