NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Saturday, March 5, 2022
Heat and ongoing drought hurt health of Oregon forests
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
CORVALLIS — Drought,
coupled with last year’s heat waves,
have weakened the health of forests
across Oregon.
“In Oregon, we’re facing several
emerging issues: drought, fire,
tree decline, insect outbreaks, tree
pathogens and invasive species,”
said David Shaw, Oregon State
University professor and forest
health specialist with the Forestry
and Natural Resources Extension.
Shaw was speaking to about 230
people at OSU’s biennial State of
the State Forest Health in Oregon
Conference on Tuesday, March 1.
Shaw motioned to the latest U.S.
Drought Monitor map, an assort-
ment of yellow, orange, red and
maroon swatches representing
the ongoing severity of Oregon’s
drought.
“This (drought) pattern that
we’re in has some serious conse-
quences for forest health,” he said.
It matters when too many trees
die, said Andrew Gray, research
ecologist with the U.S. Forest
Ser vice’s Pacif ic Nor thwest
Research Station, because healthy
forests are needed to support wild-
life, timber, water, recreation,
carbon storage and wildfi re resil-
ience.
The past few years, Oregon
forests have been suffering from
biotic and abiotic factors — biotic
meaning from living things, such as
invasive plants and bacteria, abiotic
meaning from non-living things such
as fi re and atmospheric conditions.
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
A section of forest that burned moderately in Oregon’s Bootleg Fire in 2021. Drought, plus the record-high heat
waves that year, have weakened the health of forests across Oregon
“Between the abiotic and biotic
stresses, the common thread is
drought,” said Danny DePinte,
Oregon aerial survey coordina-
tor for the U.S. Forest Service,
who coordinates remote sensing
and aerial analysis of forests via
drones, planes and satellites.
The con nection bet ween
drought and forest health is some-
times self-evident: dry fuels burn
more easily. But drought also
weakens trees, making them more
susceptible to pests.
For example, DePinte said
Southwest Oregon is facing an
uptick in Douglas fi r mortality to a
pest called the fl atheaded fi r borer.
Robbie Flowers, a U.S. Forest
Service entomologist, is also
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
SUNDAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
seeing intensifi ed pest pressure.
“(Insects that defoliate trees) are
coming into a larger, more prom-
inent role in the era of these heat
events and ongoing drought,” said
Flowers.
In Central Oregon, for exam-
ple, Flowers said bark beetles are
a major concern.
According to DePinte, the aerial
Bentz draws more challengers
sional District. He is the only
Democrat in the race.
Yetter’s fi ling lists him as
A retired U.S. Army colo- a physician and farmer. The
nel from Douglas County, a candidate statement filed
conservative activist who with the secretary of state
switched from a race in says he is a retired U.S. Army
Arizona and a 2020
colonel who served
candidate for the U.S.
from 1968 to 2004.
Senate in Arizona
Bentz already has
have filed to run
two opponents in the
against US Rep. Cliff
Republican primary,
Bentz, R-Ontario.
both with ties to
Bentz is seeking
Arizona politics.
Katherine “Kat”
a second two-year
Bentz
Gallant, a conser-
term representing
the 2nd Congressio-
vative commenta-
nal District, which covers tor living in Ukiah has been
nearly all of eastern, central listed as qualified by the
and much of southwestern Oregon secretary of state to
Oregon.
run for the 2nd Congressio-
The sprawling, mostly nal District as a Republican.
Gallant had planned to
rural area, already had
a strong Republican tilt run for the 1st Congressional
that was made even more District in Arizona in 2022.
pronounced under redis- After redistricting maps for
tricting that extracted north- both states were fi nalized,
ern Deschutes County, the Gallant said she decided to
district’s largest Democratic run for the seat in Oregon
enclave, and moved it into the instead.
5th Congressional District.
Gallant said she was born
Joseph Yetter III of and raised in Pendleton, lives
Azalea in Douglas County in Umatilla County and also
fi led on Thursday, March 3, has property in Arizona and
with the Oregon secretary of Utah.
state to run in the Democratic
Mike Cavener of Klam-
primary in the 2nd Congres- ath Falls, who lists several
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
Partly sunny and
chilly
Plenty of sunshine,
but chilly
46° 28°
48° 31°
Sunny to partly
cloudy
Showers around;
becoming windier
A morning rain or
snow shower
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
54° 41°
53° 32°
36° 18°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
55° 28°
55° 28°
62° 42°
60° 39°
44° 24°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
53/34
Kennewick Walla Walla
46/31
Lewiston
54/33
56/28
Astoria
50/35
44/26
56/27
Longview
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Pullman
Yakima 52/30
51/29
50/32
Portland
Hermiston
54/34
The Dalles 55/28
Salem
Corvallis
52/29
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
42/27
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
52/33
47/26
42/28
Ontario
54/33
54/31
45/22
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
0.00"
0.43"
0.09"
1.49"
1.61"
2.09"
WINDS (in mph)
Caldwell
Burns
53°
28°
56°
31°
70° (1987) 2° (2019)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
52/30
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 38/20
54/33
0.00"
0.36"
0.16"
2.80"
3.02"
2.85"
HERMISTON
Enterprise
46/28
60/34
47°
30°
53°
33°
75° (1968) 3° (2019)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
50/29
Aberdeen
46/27
51/30
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
50/35
52/28
Today
Sun.
NNE 4-8
NNW 4-8
NNW 3-6
NW 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
46/18
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
6:27 a.m.
5:47 p.m.
8:02 a.m.
9:26 p.m.
First
Full
Last
New
Mar 10
Mar 17
Mar 24
Mar 31
survey coordinator, another factor
that damaged Oregon’s forests
last year was the “heat dome” that
formed in June.
After the heat wave, researchers
and “citizen scientists” compiled
images and other records showing
massive sunburn damage through-
out Oregon’s forests: trees scorched
orange.
“It was a landscape-scale type
of event,” said DePinte.
The records conservatively
mapped 229,000 acres of heat
damage across Oregon and Wash-
ington.
“It was potentially the larg-
est documented scorch event in
history,” said Shaw, the extension
specialist.
David Still, OSU professor in
the Department of Forest Ecosys-
tems and Society, said some
impacts were less obvious than
sunburn. Some perfectly green
pine needles, for example, dropped
to the ground or stopped photosyn-
thesizing eff ectively after being
superheated.
“There was a real jolt to the
whole system,” said Still.
According to Jessica Halofsky,
director of the U.S. Forest Service’s
Western Wildland Environmen-
tal Threats Assessment Center,
solutions will vary by region, but
some potential solutions include
conducting more prescribed
fi re treatments, thinning stands,
improving beetle control, creat-
ing fuel breaks, removing non-na-
tive species and planting tree
species that are more disease- and
drought-resilient.
nonprofi t and political action
groups in his career, fi led to
run for the 2nd District in
early January.
Cavener filed to run in
the 2020 U.S. Senate special
election in Arizona, but with-
drew prior to the primary
vote, according to the polit-
ical tracking website, Ballot-
pedia.
T he A r i z on a G OP
primary was won by incum-
bent U.S. Sen. Martha
McSally, who had been
appointed to the seat in
2019 by Arizona Gov. Doug
Ducey. Democrat Mark
Kelly defeated McSally in
the special election. He is
running for a full six-year
term in 2022.
Unlike state offi ces, which
fall under the Oregon Consti-
tution, the rules for running
for the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives are in the U.S.
Constitution. Candidates do
not have to live in the districts
where they are candidates,
just the state.
The fi ling deadline for the
seat is March 8. Candidates
for Congress also must fi le
with the Federal Elections
Commission to raise and
spend campaign funds.
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 89° in Tampa, Fla. Low -27° in Brimson, Minn.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Reward off ered for
information in wolf
poaching case
IN BRIEF
COVE — Nonprofi t groups are willing
to pay up to $22,500 for information that
leads to an arrest or citation regarding a wolf
poached Feb. 15 near Cove.
Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife
troopers found the dead radio-collared wolf
Feb. 15 at the end of Haggerty Lane off High
Valley Road approximately 3½ miles south
of Cove while responding to a call from the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for a
mortality signal. There were no obvious signs
of injury but wildlife veterinarians discovered
a bullet while examining the wolf, which they
said was the cause of death, according to an
ODFW press release.
The wolf, a black female believed to be no
more than 2 years old, was known as OR 109
was collared and released in March 2021.
Anyone with information regarding
this case should contact the the Oregon
State Police through the Turn in Poach-
ers line at 800-452-7888 or email TIP at
TIP@osp.oregon.gov and reference case
No. SP22039030.
— EO Media Group
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
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