Lia Spiegal missed the point of my column in her response. But she recognized all the general relationships I described with large trees and water are true.

Yes, there is variation in natural systems. But large trees usually have deeper roots and are disproportionately important across the system for accessing water in dry times and for removing and storing massive amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. 

Forest floor temperature is an entirely different measurement than satellite-based land surface temperature. which measures forest canopies in direct sunlight.

Comparing neighboring forests in the Blue Mountains is hardly apples and oranges. I’ve compared temperatures of the old Boardman poplar tree farm versus adjacent shrubland, and the Congo rainforest versus the Sahara Desert. While fun, these evaluations help people understand the powerful role forests play in water and energy cycles.

The fir/spruce/hemlock type distribution and extent in Eastern Oregon is given in Figure 2 and Table 1 of Mildrexler et al at shorturl.at/oDDSu. Those familiar with the Tollgate area, Point Prominence, Elkhorns, Huckleberry Mountain in the Wallowas or the Mount Emily Country, know this forest type is a major component of the northern Blues. And a good place to forage mushrooms.

On dry forests, it’s time we recognize the decades of work by the USFS to restore these forests from a century of mismanagement. Next, we need more prescribed fire to maintain these areas, and natural fire to play its role in favorable conditions more broadly, especially in protected wilderness.

David Mildrexler

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