If you stand at the base of a juniper tree, you'll notice that nothing grows around it. The tree's extensive root system monopolizes all available water. There's been an explosion of junipers across northeastern California, harming other native plants and animals.
That's why I was disappointed by The Bee's front-page story and photos, which made an innovative restoration program look like a treedestroying rampage.
The sage steppe ecosystem restoration effort is one of the most proactive, collaborative projects California has seen, as multiple government agencies coordinated with private landowners to restore the ecosystem.
The high-desert, sage steppe ecosystem depends on a balanced diversity of plants and animals. There are many good reasons to remove certain stands of junipers to restore that balance and diversity.
For example, juniper trees consume about 50 gallons of water a day. Thinning these trees makes more water available to an ecosystem that desperately needs it. Endangered suckerfish and salmon benefit from increased flows in streams and lakes.
Rangelands benefit as more water becomes available for native grasses, forbs and sagebrush. I have seen projects on private ground where juniper removal allows native grasses to re-grow and meadows to expand.
Thinning junipers will support a healthy sagebrush ecosystem, which is essential habitat and feed for the greater sage grouse – an iconic Western bird that is currently being reviewed for endangeredspecies protection.
Finally, juniper removal offers a valuable byproduct: an outstanding biomass source of renewable energy. Biomass-generated energy will pay for the juniper program, as well as provide jobs and stimulate the rural economy.
At a time when the United States needs to become less dependent on foreign oil, and in a state that battles ever-more-destructive wildfires each year, wouldn't it make more sense to burn selected timber as energy?
It's important to remember that the restoration strategy does not propose to eliminate all junipers. Juniper trees should be part of the diverse ecosystem, but they re-seed rapidly and have come to dominate the landscape in many parts of northeastern California. The restoration program recognizes the need for a long-range strategy to maintain balance.
Both scientific studies and on-the-ground reality show the program to be effective at enhancing the biodiversity of the ecosystem while providing many additional benefits.
The sage steppe restoration strategy is an example of how human presence on the landscape can, in fact, enhance the environment.
Elisa Noble, director of livestock, public lands and natural resources for the California Farm Bureau Federation in Sacramento, is responding to the Sept. 21 front-page article "Old-growth junipers felled."
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