Renee Blare Christian Author

A Dying Breed

Wyoming’s forests are dying and so is the sawmills and lumberjacks trying to save them. Regulations, cutbacks, and political nonsense is killing our mountain forests. But pine beetles are eating them from within as fast as forest fires are burning them to the ground.

Think I’m exaggerating? Most of the eastern front range of the Big Horn Mountains burned to a crisp last summer. Mismanagement of the forest almost stole the towns of Tongue River, Sheridan, Big Horn, and Buffalo with the huge wildfire. Lives and homes were uprooted and destroyed as well as wildlife, stock, and range which will take years to recover. All because of tiny little critters called the pine beetle and the Budworm. Both state and federal government have been incapable of handling these bugs. This has resulted in years of devastation in the Wyoming forests.

It is amazing that the smallest of creatures can wreak havoc within an ecosystem, isn’t it? It’s amazing bugs no larger than the tip of a nail will wipe out entire mountain sides of pine trees. They can become deadly stags. This leads to horrific fires that sweep like lightning through territory in a matter of hours. Sometimes, it happens in minutes.

Miles upon miles, hills and mountains of forest have been decimated by the beetle and budworm. Instead of harvesting the dead trees, we keep them in tribute to these tiny creatures’ amazing ability. It’s as if we are honoring them by not dealing with the aftermath.

And we have done it for DECADES. The massive fire in the Big Horns last summer was not the first consequence of this insect worship.

No, this isn’t a new issue. Remember the Yellowstone Fires of 1988? You know, when the United States nearly lost the first National Park to wildfire. That summer, over one million acres exploded into flames due to the federal “let it burn” policy. The forests in and around the Park, again dead from the “Beetle” and the “Budworm,” went up like a tinderbox. The federal government has lived but evidently not learned from THAT fiasco. I guess it wants Round Two.

I’ve seen what is left after the fires. It is nothing but ash and sticks… dead corpses of animals littering the plains and forest floor. Oh, green grass comes in the spring. It is beauty to behold. But what about the devastation which may have been avoided? The lives lost? The trauma?

You weren’t there when thousands of tourists were running for their lives. But I was. I was here when smoke filled the air across Wyoming and neighboring states for weeks. The only thing to stop it was winter snows. I was the one not capable of breath. I joined the masses of people with COPD, CHF, or asthma. We struggled for air because of the needless burning of the HEALTHY trees. Ash and smoke sent into the skies, filling our lungs.

Why? Someone in Washington, DC was too ignorant, lazy, or spineless. They couldn’t or wouldn’t challenge the conservation groups. Nor would they oppose other lobbyists and cut the dead trees in the National Forest or Park. They exercised their power to regulate and restrict. They condemned the logging companies, sawmills, and loggers, preventing them from doing their job. This includes removing the dead trees and underbrush from the forests. They allowed the very borders of our towns to become literal powder kegs. The playgrounds where our citizens and tourists from around the world play become a risk, waiting for a spark.

And it’s happening again. Now.

And what about today? With more people, more homes in the areas? What if the worst happens and the spark ignites the flames? The government literally ties the hands of those who can STOP the devastation. In 1988, the policy was called “Let it Burn.” In 2024, it was simply “Too Difficult Terrain.” Either way, the fires were neglected. This allowed them to fester and grow beyond the ability to control or fight.

Two large fires joined quickly becoming too dangerous and strong to stop, claiming more and more territory. The power of the fires created their own weather and wind. They consumed dry timber for fuel faster than the firefighters created barriers by back burns or fire lines.

Planes and helicopters have battled “too difficult terrain” before but were stopped. The fires raced toward homes, highways, ranches, and towns. People replaced endangered wildlife, and “out of control” soon meant something else entirely. The fires required not just 100,000 or 200,000 fire personnel. They needed 900,000, and more planes than the entire fleet held.

Now the situation was much more than a wildfire problem, but a civil safety problem. Mountain cabins, towns, and small and large towns in the foothills were in danger and needed evacuated. The State of Wyoming deployed the National Guard to save help residents along the entire Big Horn front range. They also assisted other locations with range fires ignited ignited by lightning strikes, errant cigarette flicks, or foolish campers.

Why? Every other resource in the state and country was deployed. Many of those crews (local, state, and national) were dispatched in Wyoming.

We are in this preventable situation again…today due to the dramatic regulations and restrictions on logging and lumber mill industries. Only two operations persist in Wyoming now and they near bankruptcy. They do not expect to stay in business even with relief by new administrative lumber policies. The overall impact on the industry in Wyoming has been too severe.

In my area, lumber mills closed their doors a year after Biden took office. I don’t know if there will be a chance for any comeback. The National Forest is in bad shape. Underbrush is piling high, trees are dying. Summer brings a high risk of fire.

If the lumberjacks don’t get back to work, and the mills are not processing soon, the forests won’t recover. And that, my friends, will be a sorry day for us all on this planet.

We need to protect the forests from the Budworm and Pine Beetle. This means the lumberjack and lumber mills are necessary. They keep the trees healthy and clear of infestation. They don’t need to be standing idle while our forests contain dead stags and healthy trees attracting killer bugs. That is how we are LOSING the remaining forest.

Help bring back the lumberjacks. We need to remove the dead trees. Start the lumber mills. And spruce up the forests before they all reduced to ashes like the Big Horns.

Protect our Wyoming Wildlife. Protect our natural playgrounds. This isn’t a liberal or conservative issue. This is a world issue. I’m begging you to SAVE MY HOME.

In Christ,

Renee Blare, RPh