In Greenwood fire, distant landowner's 'burnt canvas' raises questions about land management
The Greenwood fire roaring through
"Needless to say we'll have to make some changes to that," said
The blaze, the largest of more than a dozen wildfires burning in northern
"The outbreak [of spruce budworm] is at its peak," said
"Imagine thousands of acres of dried out Christmas trees and what would happen if you threw a match on them," said
Furtman said his cabin is on
"We were evacuated a week ago … and have not been able to get back in," he said. "My stomach is in knots."
Furtman said he and his wife hired people to cut down dead trees and "busted our butts" removing potential tinder, hauling out "dozens of loads" of brush. He estimates they've spent
"The individual small landowners are doing everything they can, and can afford," Furtman said. "Has the wealthy landowner done everything he can and can afford?"
Furtman learned about the large
Hayes called the questions "reasonable."
"We are actively asking that of ourselves," he said.
Hayes said he has only visited the
Technically, the 12,350 acres is held in
Hayes said the trust put "enormous amount of effort" into fire management at the
"We have let that property go natural, even forgoing harvest of the timber, because we wanted it to reach absolute maturity," he said.
Hayes said he was aware of problems with the spruce budworm, and timber crews had pointed out areas on the
"It was never discussed that it was fuel building up for forest fires," he said. "I guarantee you it will be moving forward."
Hayes said he's heard of government programs to help and will be disappointed "if we missed that boat."
One program run by the
The spruce budworm population explodes ever 30 years or so, Byrns said, and, despite their name, they gorge on balsam fir, munching on tender growth and eventually defoliating the trees.
The result is a mass of tinder, he said.
Someone with Lake County Land & Timber contacted him a few years ago to discuss conservation easements and cost share help for improving timber stands, Bryns said. They did not discuss fire mitigation that he could recall, he said.
Byrns said the spruce budworm damage "is very noticeable" in a drone video posted with the property's real estate listing and photos show gray-brown Christmas tree shapes.
"Those are all dead balsams which have been defoliated by SBW [spruce budworm], and that the forest is riddled with them," Byrns said via e-mail.
"I was not aware there was a condition in
The family wanted the
"I don't know that we could have done anything different over the last 10 years that would offset the conditions you seem to be having right now," he said.
A ruffed grouse hunt first led his father and grandfather to northern
Hayes' father is
The family money came from the old
Now the family must deal with a "burnt canvas" in
"What makes us the most sick is the loss of the habitat, and we've gotten to know a lot of the locals and cabin owners … there's a lot of great folks up there that are as dedicated naturalists and outdoors folks as I've ever seen, and this is going to be very difficult," Hayes said. "It's tough to see."
Data editor
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