By Steve Wilent, For The Mountain Times
Before I get into the snow, I have a few words about the recent firings of federal employees. As you may have heard, thousands of federal employees recently were fired, including 3,400 USFS employees and hundreds of BLM employees. Some of them may be rehired, at least temporarily, while the courts do their work.
I often work or interact with US Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees on behalf of AntFarm Youth Services (a nonprofit contractor for both agencies), as a member of a federal Resource Advisory Committee for the Mt. Hood and Willamette National Forests, and as a participant in Mt. Hood Corridor Wildfire Partnership meetings. As a forestry instructor at Mt. Hood Community College, numerous agency employees have come to my classes over the years to lead field tours or to make presentations (including virtually, when Covid prevented in-person meetings). And as a private citizen I often encounter agency employees while recreating, buying firewood-cutting permits, taking tours, and so on.
In the past I’ve complained about some of the agencies’ decisions and policies, but not about the people. By and large, the vast majority of the individuals I’ve worked or interacted with are highly professional, well educated, dedicated, and, in general, do very good work. Too many have been suddenly and undeservedly fired or laid off in recent weeks without cause. They deserve our respect and support. When you encounter a federal employee, or a former employee, I hope you’ll tell them that you appreciate their good work.
Now, the white stuff. We’ve had a bit of snow in our area so far this year — typical amounts, nothing surprising. Snowfall at Timberline Lodge had a 131-inch base depth at the lodge, at 6,000 feet, on March 1. That’s lower than the long-term March 1 average of 145 inches. However, there’s still a bit of winter weather yet to come, so the base may reach the April 1 average of 165 inches by that date, which is usually when the snowpack on the mountain begins to decline.
According to Timberline statistics, which go back to 1949, the 2020s have so far been about average, as decades go. The 1990s had the highest average snow depth, while the 1960s had the lowest.
The situation at lower elevations is far different. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, April snowpack on mountains in the western US declined at 81 percent of the sites measured since 1955. The average change across all sites amounts to about an 18-percent decline. Also, nearly 80 percent of the sites have experienced a shift toward earlier peak snowpack. And the length of the snowpack season has decreased by about 15 days, on average. Why? Climate change is a big part of the answer.
Average annual precipitation in Oregon and the western US has remained remarkably steady since 1895, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data—there’s no significant trend up or down. At the same time, the trend in average annual temperature in Oregon and the Western US is increasing at a rate of 2.2 to 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit per century.
In other words, it’s getting warmer. The result is that we’re getting less snow and more rain at lower elevations.
That’s bad news for skiers, snowboarders, and other winter recreation enthusiasts, of course. These changes also have dramatic impacts on forests, fish, wildlife, agriculture, domestic drinking water, and hydroelectric power generation. With warmer summers and forests that dry out earlier, wildfires will continue to plague our region. The die-offs of Western red cedar trees throughout the region probably is related to increasing temperatures.
The Woodsman, remembering the old saying about making lemonade when life offers lemons, will find plenty to write about in the future.
Have a question about climate change and forests? Want to know how snowpack is measured? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com.