{"id":87022,"date":"2020-07-28T21:34:46","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T03:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=87022"},"modified":"2020-07-28T22:07:23","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T04:07:23","slug":"the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html","title":{"rendered":"The spreading deadwood forests of western North America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"It's<\/a>
An iPhone photo taken by my wife near Rabbit Ears Pass this afternoon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We have been shocked and disheartened to see the amount of damage that has been done to the forests here in Colorado by bark beetles.\u00a0 We saw it in and around Rocky Mountain National Park and, today, especially in the area up by Rabbit Ears Pass, especially on the western side.\u00a0 In some areas, well over 50% of the trees appear to be dead.\u00a0 We have been horrified, previously, to see similar levels of destruction in forests in Utah, and shocked to see the same thing in the national parks of Banff and Jasper up in Alberta, Canada.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019re told that such cycles of destruction and reforestation are natural, and I\u2019m sure that they are.\u00a0 That is, apparently, one reason why forestry officials have often been inclined not to intervene.\u00a0 But the current cycle represents devastation on a perhaps unprecedented scale, apparently brought on by climate change \u2014 drier weather, higher temperatures, and shorter winters.\u00a0 These climatic trends been very much to the benefit of bark beetles.\u00a0 Moreover, although (as one sign in Rocky Mountain National Park put it) bark beetle infestations have occurred several times in Colorado\u2019s forests \u2014 and, I presume, in other forests adjacent to them \u2014 over the past 500 years, that\u2019s of little comfort to living humans.\u00a0 Five centuries are virtually nothing<\/em> in geological terms, obviously, and five hundred years aren\u2019t even very long in the life of a forest or a biome.\u00a0 But half a millennium is a very, very long time compared to the life of a human being.\u00a0 We are, relatively speaking, flies of a summer.\u00a0 Here today, gone almost before tomorrow.\u00a0 And the sad fact is that nobody alive today is ever again going to see the forests of Banff, Jasper, the Colorado Rockies, or the mountains around Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks as they were even a generation ago.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Athabasca<\/a>
The Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. The image on the left was taken in 1918 by Arthur Wheeler (Library and Archives Canada), the image on the right in 2011 by the Mountain Legacy Project. So far as I can tell, both images are in the public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like the related shrinking of Earth\u2019s glaciers, the desolation of our western forests strikes me as a deeply, deeply melancholy thing.\u00a0 And I wonder whether we might not have been able to manage the bark beetle problem a little better than we have.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, for what it\u2019s worth, here\u2019s an attempt to put a positive spin on the situation:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBark Beetles Are Decimating Our Forests. That Might Actually Be a Good Thing: They gobble up trees and send politicians into a frenzy. But do the bugs know more about climate change than we do?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

To conclude on a brighter note, though:\u00a0 As I was readying our car for leaving Breckenridge this morning, I commented to my wife that it would be nice to see my red fox once again.\u00a0 She had missed seeing him, but we were now looking toward the area where I had spotted him the day before.\u00a0 Not sixty seconds later, he loped right past the car, maybe only two or three feet from us, with some sort of prey in his mouth.\u00a0 We watched him until he was out of sight.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Steamboat Springs, Colorado<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 We have been shocked and disheartened to see the amount of damage that has been done to the forests here in Colorado by bark beetles.\u00a0 We saw it in and around Rocky Mountain National Park and, today, especially in the area up by Rabbit Ears Pass, especially on the western side.\u00a0 In some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14047,5198,14041,5186,1902,10615,6768,521,14050,10774,14044,14053,13886],"class_list":["post-87022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alberta","tag-banff","tag-bark-beetle","tag-canada","tag-climate-change","tag-colorado","tag-forest","tag-global-warming","tag-infestation","tag-invasion","tag-jasper","tag-rabbit-ears-pass","tag-rocky-mountain-national-park"],"yoast_head":"\nThe spreading deadwood forests of western North America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    We have been shocked and disheartened to see the amount of damage that has been done to the forests here in Colorado by bark beetles.\u00a0 We\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The spreading deadwood forests of western North America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    We have been shocked and disheartened to see the amount of damage that has been done to the forests here in Colorado by bark beetles.\u00a0 We\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-29T03:34:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-29T04:07:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/07\/Unknown-2-1-e1595993158668.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html\",\"name\":\"The spreading deadwood forests of western North America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-29T03:34:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-29T04:07:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    We have been shocked and disheartened to see the amount of damage that has been done to the forests here in Colorado by bark beetles.\u00a0 We\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The spreading deadwood forests of western North America\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The spreading deadwood forests of western North America","description":"    We have been shocked and disheartened to see the amount of damage that has been done to the forests here in Colorado by bark beetles.\u00a0 We","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The spreading deadwood forests of western North America","og_description":"    We have been shocked and disheartened to see the amount of damage that has been done to the forests here in Colorado by bark beetles.\u00a0 We","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2020-07-29T03:34:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-07-29T04:07:23+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/07\/Unknown-2-1-e1595993158668.jpeg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html","name":"The spreading deadwood forests of western North America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-07-29T03:34:46+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-29T04:07:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    We have been shocked and disheartened to see the amount of damage that has been done to the forests here in Colorado by bark beetles.\u00a0 We","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/07\/the-spreading-deadwood-forests-of-western-north-america.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The spreading deadwood forests of western North America"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87022\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}