Opinion
A4
Thursday, March 17, 2022
OUR VIEW
Reviewing
two years of
COVID-19
n Saturday, March 12, the indoor mask
mandates imposed by the governors of
Oregon, Washington and California were
O
lifted.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has also announced
that the state of emergency that was put in place
on March 8, 2020, will expire April 1.
Huzzah!
Offi cially, the lifting of the mask requirement
refl ects declining COVID-19 cases and hospi-
talizations in the West Coast states. Others sug-
gest the announcements were coordinated with
other Blue state governments to suggest a return
to “normalcy” before President Biden’s State of
the Union address and in advance of the midterm
election campaign.
Whatever the reason, we are nonetheless
thankful for the reprieve — even if it later proves
temporary.
Two years and change into the pandemic, it
behooves us to take stock of where we have been
and off er some observations.
• COVID-19 qualifi ed as a clear and present
danger as it unfolded in the early spring of 2020.
Little was known about the disease when it
arrived in the United States.
In that context, the “two-weeks-to-fl atten-
the-curve” shutdown made some sense. But
as those “two weeks” dragged into more than
three months, this seemed less like a thoughtful
strategy and more like a desperate eff ort to out-
last the virus.
• While government can quickly shut the
economy down, starting it back up again isn’t that
easy.
• State government was unprepared to deal
with the impacts its measures infl icted on
working people and their employers. Shuttering
the economy left more than half a million people
on the West Coast scrambling for a paycheck.
• We have been told to “follow the science.”
Being strong believers of facts, we put a lot of
stock in science.
But, the exhortation to “follow the science”
has too often been used as a cudgel with which to
beat critics.
Science is not religious dogma. It is an open
question, not a declarative statement. We don’t
say this to benefi t crackpots and conspiracy theo-
rists, but to encourage reasoned debate.
Offi cials conveying science have too often
failed to concede that the body of knowledge is
ever changing.
We have always been strong advocates for vac-
cinations, and still are. Initially, we were told
the vaccines would prevent infections and trans-
mission in most cases. Then we were told that in
most cases it would only keep people from get-
ting really sick. That’s still a worthy outcome, but
not what conveyors of science promised in the
beginning.
Policy makers have been the strongest propo-
nents of “the science,” but have been willing to
forego the science for political expediency.
• No elected offi cial should be allowed to rule
indefi nitely by decree. Emergency powers should
be limited in duration and subject to mandatory
legislative oversight. A benevolent dictatorship in
all but name is nonetheless tyranny.
Most people learned to live with the virus
months ago. We are happy that the governors are
learning it, too. We hope in future emergencies
that they put more trust in the instincts of their
constituents.
Protecting large trees key to healthy forests
DAVID
MILDREXLER
OTHER VIEWS
P
roposed forest management of
the Mount Emily Recreation
Area has raised important
questions about large trees. I’m an
ecologist who studies forest ecosys-
tems and the signifi cant values they
provide. I’d like to share a few fi nd-
ings specifi c to the largest trees in
the forest that underscore their out-
sized benefi ts to both the forest and
local community.
Large trees are crucial in eco-
system water and energy cycles.
Large deeply rooted trees tap
groundwater resources not avail-
able to shallow-rooted plants. During
drier months roots lift deep soil
water up to shallow, drier portions
of soil and release it, sharing water
to the ecosystem, including neigh-
boring plants of diff erent species. A
study in old growth ponderosa pine
found that during July and August
this process accounted for approx-
imately 35% of total daily water
usage from the upper soil, adding
weeks of water during drought. This
allows the ecosystem to continue
photosynthesis, storing more carbon,
and cooling the forest canopy as
water evaporates from foliage. Forest
canopies can register summer sur-
face temperatures more than 30°F
cooler than adjacent non-forest cover
types, and large trees are the engine
of this work. The water released to
the atmosphere contributes to down-
wind moisture content and rain-
fall. Intact forests with large trees
are positively associated with cool
summer temperatures, increased
late-summer streamfl ow and clean
surface drinking water.
Among the more remarkable
recent discoveries is that mas-
sive root systems of large trees link
belowground ecosystems via mycor-
rhizal fungal networks and myriad
soil microorganisms, forming an
interconnected resource sharing
and communication network. Large
trees function as focal centers of this
underground system, revolution-
izing our understanding of the com-
plexity and interconnectedness of
forest ecosystems.
Globally, a 2018 study found that
the largest-diameter 1% of trees hold
half of all the aboveground carbon
stored in the world’s forests. In a
recently published analysis of carbon
storage in six national forests in
Eastern Oregon, my coauthors and
I found that big trees, with trunks
more than 21 inches in diameter
(DBH), comprise just 3% of these
forests but store 42% of the abo-
veground carbon. The dominant tree
species at MERA, Douglas-fi r and
ponderosa pine, both had the same
proportion of stems ≥ 21 in DBH
(about 3.7 %), yet these stems held
37.5% and 45.8% of total species
aboveground carbon, respectively.
As trees grow larger, small
increases in diameter add a rela-
tively large amount of volume —
the overall eff ect being that carbon
stores increase rapidly with tree
diameter. For instance, doubling tree
diameter from 10 inches to 20 inches
led to a 5.3 to 6.2-fold increase in
carbon, whereas tripling diameter
led to a 13.8 to 18.2-fold increase.
The very large trees (≥ 30 in DBH)
are exceptionally rare in eastern
Oregon — less than 1% of the total
stems in the forest. But these giants
held an even greater proportion of
carbon relative to their small num-
bers, demonstrating the importance
of letting large trees grow larger
and accumulate more carbon for cli-
mate mitigation now and into the
near future.
From its beginning, logging
removed the easily accessible
low-elevation, large, old-growth
ponderosa pine, Douglas-fi r, and
western larch trees. Today, all
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
STAFF
SUBSCRIBEAND SAVE
NEWSSTAND PRICE: $1.50
You can save up to 55% off the single-copy
price with home delivery.
Call 800-781-3214 to subscribe.
Subscription rates:
Monthly Autopay ...............................$10.75
13 weeks.................................................$37.00
26 weeks.................................................$71.00
52 weeks ..............................................$135.00
remaining old trees are incredibly
valuable. Even certain diseases dis-
paraged from a timber production
point of view add to the complexity
of these inherited treasures from
an ecological perspective. Small
trees pose the greatest fi re risk and
are most vulnerable during drought
relative to mature trees that have
reached full root, bark and canopy
development and respond to climate
variability better. Large trees are the
safe vault to store carbon.
It’s only through large live trees
that large-diameter snags come into
existence and provide crucial habitat
for a diversity of wildlife species in
Eastern Oregon’s forests. Snags and
fallen trees also contribute to com-
plex long-term carbon and nutrient
cycling, serve as substrate for the
next generation of seedlings, and
contribute legacies that link forest
generations. On the ground they
act like sponges, absorbing and
retaining water and slowly releasing
it during the summer to the soil and
atmosphere. A 2020 study found
that across Pacifi c Northwest forests
there continues to be a long-term
defi cit in large live trees and snags
from 20th century logging.
Large trees are cornerstones of
diversity and resilience for the entire
forest community, and they provide
many services important to society.
We would do well to protect large
trees where we can, and a suffi cient
supply of those that will soon reach
large diameter.
———
David Mildrexler is a systems
ecologist with Eastern Oregon
Legacy Lands where he focuses
on terrestrial systems science,
large landscape conservation,
and the educational programs
at Wallowology Natural History
Discovery Center. He holds an M.S.
in forest science from the University
of Montana, and a PhD in forest
ecosystems and society from Oregon
State University.
Anindependent newspaper foundedin1896
www.lagrandeobserver.com
Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
(except postal holidays) by EO Media Group,
911 Jefferson Ave., La Grande, OR 97850
(USPS 299-260)
The Observer retains ownership and copyright
protection of all staff-prepared news copy, advertising
copy, photos and news or ad illustrations. They may
not be reproduced without explicit prior approval.
COPYRIGHT © 2022
Phone:
541-963-3161
Regional publisher ....................... Karrine Brogoitti
Multimedia journalist.........................Alex Wittwer
Interim editor ....................................Andrew Cutler
Home delivery adviser.......... Amanda Turkington
Assistant editor .................................... Ronald Bond
Advertising representative ..................... Kelli Craft
News clerk ........................................Lisa Lester Kelly
Advertising representative .................... Amy Horn
Reporter....................................................Dick Mason
National accounts coordinator ...... Devi Mathson
Reporter............................................Davis Carbaugh
Graphic design .................................. Dorothy Kautz
Toll free (Oregon):
1-800-781-3214
Email:
news@lagrandeobserver.com
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
The Observer,
911 Jefferson Ave.,
La Grande, OR 97850
A division of