The consensus among scientists is that trees in the Methow Valley need to be removed much faster than is now being done. State and federal governments are enthusiastic about doing this — at least on paper. They call this “forest health treatment,” which typically involves leaving bigger trees standing while cutting and piling up the smaller ones into slash piles that are burned in the winter. But the rate of this thinning depends on government funding, and although agencies no longer follow the 10 o’clock rule, a ballooning portion of agency budgets are still directed toward firefighting, leaving little left over for restoration.
“I’ve become really impatient about the pace
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