CANAJOHARIE This village is like a number of Mohawk Valley Rust Belt communities along Interstate 90 where the industrial base left years ago with nothing to replace it.

And Canajoharie has an additional challenge: sky high water and sewer rates, thanks to the debt incurred to service what had been the villages economic mainstay.

While the village was updating their water-sewer infrastructure, the Beech-Nut baby food plant that had been here since 1905 was preparing to leave.

By 2011, Beech-Nut was at a new plant 22 miles away in the town of Florida, which is also in Montgomery County.

Now, village leaders, Montgomery County officials and economic developers are hoping the abundant water that is available could be a drawing card to bring in a manufacturer, perhaps another food processing facility, on the 27-acre site that has sat empty for nearly a decade.

A heavy water user would be nice, Montgomery County Executive Matt Ossenfort said Tuesday during a brief media tour of the plant for reporters and for U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, whose 19th Congressional District includes Canajoharie.

Even though officials on Monday had no revelations of tenants or firm plans for the complex, they wanted to make it clear that they are making steady progress in preparing the site for a new user. They recently completed asbestos and mold removal on the plants west side, which faces the villages small, quaint downtown area.

And the east side of Canajoharie Creek, which divides the site, has already been cleared and is just about shovel ready.

While asbestos removal and land clearing over 10 years may seem like a snails pace for progress, Ossenfort and others explained the work is in part regulated by the flow of state or federal money required to remediate the hazards and knock down the old buildings.

The most recent work was funded by $6 million in state Restore NY funds. County officials are constantly on the lookout for new funding streams to pay for the work.

Ossenfort said theyve already heard from developers who would like to put a truck stop on the propertys east side, but theyve said no since that wouldnt generate enough jobs. Light manufacturing or a food plant would work on the east side, he said, and theyd like to keep the building's original faade on the west side intact to house smaller businesses or even shops. They would also like to build a clear connection with the Mohawk River-Erie Canal, which is a stones throw away.

Despite the slow movement, the success of the Florida Business Park suggests that the region can still attract employers.

In addition to Beech-Nut, that 800-acre park has Dollar General, and Target warehouses. And most recently, online retailer Amazon has put in a last mile center where items are prepared for local delivery. They are currently hiring, said county economic development Director Ken Rose.

Part of that parks success is its size, noted Canajoharie Mayor Jeff Baker. It was also one of the reasons Beech-Nut moved as there was not space to expand in the village. Were landlocked, he said.

Delgado said he was encouraged by what he was seeing and pledged to help push for any federal money that might be available for the site preparation work. We can lend our name to support for grant funding, he said.

Canajoharie is at the northwestern corner of the first-term Democrats 19th Congressional District. Ossenfort and Baker, who wore a Dont Tread on Me baseball cap, are both Republicans.

That didnt seem to matter as they were happy to see Delgado who, equipped with a flashlight, gamely toured the darkened, empty hull of the old factory.

Im going to give him the benefit of the doubt, Baker said of Delgado.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU

Continued here:
Slowly but surely, county officials are getting Beech-Nut site ready for re-use - Times Union

SINGAPORE: Forested areas greater than the size of the Netherlands have been burnt in Indonesia in the past five years, with 30 per cent of the fires occurring on pulpwood and palm oil concessions, environmental group Greenpeace said yesterday.

Greenpeace said analysis of official data showed 4.4 million ha of land burned over 2015 to last year, with 1.3 million ha of that lying in the concession areas.

The group's report said eight of the 10 palm companies with the largest burnt areas in their concessions for the five years have not been sanctioned.

Indonesia's new jobs creation law, which activists say favours businesses at the expense of the environment, is "rolling out a red carpet" for more deforestation, it also said.

"Year after year, they (companies) have broken the law by allowing forests to go up in flames," said head of the Greenpeace South-east Asia forest campaign Kiki Taufik.

Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Three of the five companies Greenpeace said had the largest burnt areas in their concessions from 2015 to last year are suppliers to Indonesia's biggest conglomerate, Sinar Mas Group, and one of the country's largest paper companies, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).

A spokesman for APP, which is part of Sinar Mas Group, said it has spent US$150 million (S$204 million) on a fire management system, and that it continues to help local communities transition away from slash-and-burn land clearing towards more sustainable methods.- REUTERS

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Total forested area burnt in Indonesia bigger than Netherlands - The New Paper

Part III

William quickly became prominent in the social and political fabric of Old Middle Florida. Among his contemporaries were John and Robert Gamble, James Gadsden, Richard Keith Call, Achille Murat, Thomas Randall, Joseph White and others who heavily influenced Floridas early affairs. A number of these men were neighboring plantation owners in the vicinity of Waukeenah. In particular, he bonded with R. Keith Call and Achille Murat. Call, with close ties to Andrew Jackson, was at one point Floridas territorial delegate in Washington and would later become its territorial governor.

Of all the characters marching through this period, none were more colorful or popular than Achille Murat, nephew of Napolean, Prince of Naples and husband of Catharine Willis, great grand-niece of George Washington.

It is not surprising that William Nuttall moved with ease into the elite political and social circle of his realm. He was obviously intelligent, well educated, charming, energetic and highly ambitious, although imbued with a tendency for this latter trait to outpace his judgement. He is variously described by those he encountered as amiable, affable and uncommonly handsome. Call pulled him into his political organization known as the Nucleus and Nuttall was seriously considered a future candidate for territorial delegate.

The areas growth engendered heavy demand for legal services such that William joined Achille Murat in the practice of law, a partnership which appears to have endured from circa 1829 to 1834. Both partners shared impulsive drives toward risky investments including land and banking ventures. Their involvement in the Union Bank ruptured their association when Murat was removed as a director and later replaced by Nuttall whom he accused of surreptitiously undermining him.Shortly thereafter, Murat migrated to New Orleans, and, after unsuccessful endeavors there, particularly speculative land investments, he returned insolvent to Lipona, his Florida plantation.

Also worthy of mention is another scheme Murat and Nuttall promoted prior to their breakup. In 1831 they, along with other substantial planters formed the Wacissa and Aucilla Navigation Company to make navigable the Wacissa and Aucilla Rivers for transport of agricultural commodities, primarily cotton, out to the Gulf and the port at St. Marks. This route would improve their existing logistics which entailed difficult overland travel. The key feature of this project was the clearing and deepening of a tributary of the Wacissa to form a canal joining it to the Aucilla. Much effort would finally be expended on its construction, mainly after 1850, by slave labor contracted with Kidder Moore and Captain D.F.P. Newsome. Contrary to local legend, there is no evidence that William Nuttall employed any of his slaves on this ill-fated venture.

Part IVGiven his law practice, plantation administration, political involvement, land and banking speculations, Nuttall was indeed a busy man, but he found time to enjoy the plentiful social activity afforded by friends and local events. Obviously missing was a wife. 1832 would prove to be a momentous year in his life. On June 6, John Nuttall, his father, died and was buried in the Nuttall Cemetery in Franklinton, North Carolina.

By this time, William had fallen in love with Mary Wallace Savage, a Savannah, Georgia heiress. How they became acquainted is unknown but William undoubtedly traveled at times and could have visited in Savannah on his initial journey from North Carolina to Florida or later.

Mary Savage also traveled and could have visited the Tallahassee area or Newport, R.I., a popular resort for the wealthy which played a major role in her life.

Nuttall might have sojourned there as well. It is a tribute to Williams charm, attractive persona and social station that he was able to entice Mary into marriage, given the fact that El Destino was still a somewhat primitive frontier venue, and the area remained very much subject to raids from the Seminole Indians.

On June 30, 1832 they were married in Savannah, followed by a honeymoon spent largely in Newport, R.I. and accompanied by Marys mother. Their return to El Destino opened a new and very different chapter in Marys life but it is clear she adapted well and was soon widely respected and admired.

The end of 1832 marked another milestone for William when he became the sole owner of El Destino by purchasing the entire plantation from his fathers estate for the sum of seventeen thousand dollars via a note to James Patton, executor.Though rustic and without amenities typical of a frontier setting, the social life of the region was quite vibrant. There were horse races, elaborate dinner parties, balls, receptions, weddings and frequent visits among local residents, often with overnight stays. Ellen Call Long, in reminiscences entitled Florida Breezes, gives a vivid description of one such event at El Destino in the early 1830; a costume ball was held whose characters included Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Bluebeard, Falstaff and others, drinking champagne and waltzing in great revelry. Adding to the excitement and beauty of the evening was a ring of bonfires built by the slaves in a perimeter around the home, whose more mundane purpose was to prevent a surprise from the Indians, albeit a marked lack of anxiety by both hosts and guests. Florida Breezes also holds some of the best depictions of Mary. Passages describe her as grand looking with a countenance more expressive of all that is beautiful in womanly character. Also a male admirer states, there is nothing provincial about her; she would grace a queens drawing room. Other narratives personify her as tall, pretty and, perhaps, stately in bearing. As events would soon confirm, Mary Nuttall was not only attractive but equally resilient, poised and smart.

More here:
The Rise and Fall of William B. Nuttall A seven-part series - Part 3 & 4 of 7 - ECB Publishing

If youre buying a Greenworks chainsaw, youre already starting off on the right foot. They make excellent electric and battery-powered chainsaws, including some of the most powerful in the industry.

They also make a range of voltages to choose from. If you already have other Greenworks tools, chances are you can stick to the same platform and use batteries you already have. If not, well help you sort through and find the best one for your needs.

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Kicking the gas can to the curb in favor of electric power has several benefits. Theres no gas and oil to mix (or spill!), no gas engine emissions, far less maintenance, and theres much less noise. In some cases, they can rival the power of gas saws.

In general, we prioritize power and youll see that in our selections. Price and features come into play as well, but we believe youll have the best experience with the highest performing chainsaws. In our opinion, its worth paying a little more to get it.

Corded electric chainsaws arent as convenient as cordless, but theyre absolutely the way to go when you want to avoid gas on a smaller budget. Of the choices Greenworks has, we like their 14.5-amp saw as our top choice.

It has much higher power than the 10-amp saws and sports an 18-inch bar, matching the size of the best battery-powered chainsaws out there and giving you the most cutting versatility. Best of all, its less than $100!

Greenworks only makes one 24V chainsaw currently (theres a pole saw available, too) and its worth considering. Weighing less than 8 pounds and using a 10-inch bar, its a very manageable saw to use while sticking with a typical rear-handle design.

This model is an excellent choice for limbing trees and cutting larger hedge branches that are too thick for your hedge trimmer or loppers. Its also pretty affordable, coming in at $79.99 as a bare tool and $129.99 with a 2.0Ah battery and charger.

If you still need another reason, the battery is compatible with other lawn care equipment and is the only one that works with Greenworks cordless power tools.

The Greenworks 40V line in one of their broadest and there are several chainsaw options, including an 8-inch pole saws attachment and 12- to 16-inch traditional chainsaws. The 14- and 16-inch saws use brushless motors.

Wed go for the 16-inch model to get the best power and capacity. A 16-inch saw is really in the sweet spot for homeowner needs, tackling limbing with ease and giving you the bar length to fell smaller trees.

Its $199.99 as a bare tool and theres a kit that comes with a 4.0Ah, 2.5Ah battery, and charger for $289.99 that gives you the best value. The batteries also work across the entire 40V line.

Greenworks is on its second generation for their 60V chainsaw. The original was solid, but this updated model takes it to the next level. Sporting a brushless motor, its capable of producing more torque and faster cutting than a 42cc gas saw.

If youre looking for our top recommendation while youre buying a Greenworks chainsaw, this is it. Its the best balance of size, weight, and performance among the different voltages. While the 40V saw may score higher in value, the 60V Pro is a better bet if you have consistent chainsaw work throughout the year.

Available with a 16-inch bar for $199.99 bare and $249.99 with a 2.0Ah battery and charger, its a solid value as its performance level. Theres also a kit with an 18-inch bar and 4.0Ah battery for $299.99 ($199 as a bare with the 18-inch bar). Both sizes are a solid betjust go with the one that fits the type of cutting you do most.

The battery is compatible with the entire line of 60V Pro lawn care equipment and Greenworks battery-powered pressure washer.

Moving into the 80V Pro line, you have the choice of 16-inch or 18-inch Greenworks chainsaws and a 10-inch pole saw. Wed go with the 18-inch option.

The performance level matches up with a 45cc gas engine and it has a very professional feel with legitimate steel bucking spikes and a chain brake. If youre looking for the most powerful battery-powered Greenworks chainsaw on the residential side, this is the way to go.

As a bare tool, its $199.99 and $349.99 with a 2.0Ah battery and charger. Like the 40V and 60V Pro systems, theres a full line of compatible tools and these will all be at the highest performance levels without moving into the Commercial series.

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Greenworks Commercials 48V system actually has a dual-voltage 24V/48V battery design that runs both lawn care equipment and power tools. Theres a 16-inch chainsaw in the line, but we suggest you take a look at the arborist-specific 48V 12-inch top-handle chainsaw.

Also compatible with 10-inch and 14-inch bars, this lightweight saw comes in at just 7.5 pounds without the battery. Its brushless motor runs the chain at 64 fps, making quick work of the branches youre trimming at height.

Its a professional tool with a solid build that runs $499.99 with a 4.0Ah battery and charger. Theres also a less expensive 40V arborists saw withing the Greenworks Commercial family, but we prefer the 48V.

There are a couple of Greenworks Commercial 82V chainsaws to choose from and the GS181 is the one wed go with. This beefy saw improves the power, boasting 50cc gas engine power and putting it in a class all its own.

Its the most capable saw across the entire Greenworks line and is appropriate for trimming and felling, land clearing, and general forestry. If youre looking for something that can be a primary replacement for gas power in the farm and ranch class, this is the best there is.

It runs $349.99 as a bare tool and youll need to grab your batteries and charger separately. Theres a full range of compatible lawn care tools designed to meet commercial needs.

The rest is here:
Greenworks Chainsaw Reviews 2020 | What to Know Before You Buy! - Pro Tool Reviews

Hang on: Berejiklian is widely regarded as a competent manager? How can we overlook land clearing under this government? The Crown casino construction; the stadium and Powerhouse debacles; the sale of the Lands and Titles office; mining under dams; plans to raise the Warragamba Dam wall; people living through winter in caravans after losing everything in bushfires; the proliferation of brumbies in the Snowy Mountains; the decimation of native fauna and particularly the koala population; the neglect of staffing in national parks, which exacerbated the bushfire disaster; the cracking in houses near motorway constructions; hundreds of demountable classrooms and the understaffing in schools; and the freezing of emergency workers pay. These are all failures of this government. Im just warming up with this list. We are so complacent. Why do we accept these failures by this government? No compromise Gladys would be a more appropriate description. Kate Broadfoot, Bulli

I wonder if its possible for our leaders to learn from Jacinda Ardern. Pam Corkery (I want a hug from Jacinda too, October 19) sums up Ms Arderns leadership style this way: She counters false claims with facts and logic and often a devastating smile, but she never humiliates opponents. When asked what the key requirement for leadership is, she says kindness. With positivity a close second. I think that is worth quoting and repeating. We want and need this style of leadership. And, despite those who believe you need to get stuck into your opponents, it wins elections. Philip Fitzgerald, Lapstone

I want what shes having. Kindness for others, a sense of obligation to uplift the standing of others through respect and empathy, co-operation and the need to think ahead should be imprinted on every leader when reaching office. It is time to emulate a new order. It is not only sport where New Zealand shines. Janice Creenaune, Austinmer

How good is Jacinda Ardern! Words like kindness, positivity, respect and empathy are not those usually used to describe the qualities of our politicians or those in the US, who instead choose rudeness, obstinacy, inequality, secrecy and division. New Zealand people have watched her daily COVID briefings, rather than commercial news, to gain information. Here we get political spin. Her wellbeing budget, introduced last year, emphasises happiness over capitalist gain, and their economy is not judged by how well rich people are doing, or the size of their deficit. Her core objectives that everyone deserves a job, somewhere to live, someone to love and something to hope for would be branded as radical left policy here and in the US, but encapsulates the recipe for a unified and harmonious country. Alan Marel, North Curl Curl

The criticisms of Ardern having not delivered are invalid because she consciously aimed at the most difficult, unachievable and beneficial goals. To fail in fully achieving the noblest target is superior to succeeding in achieving anything lower. Failure like that, persisted in, will reach the stars. Bev Atkinson, Scone

Jacinda Ardern has shown that politicians do not necessarily have to make popular decisions to win support. Actions and positive outcomes speak louder than words. Brian Jeffrey, Gunnedah

Reading NZ politics is more interesting than reading US politics. I am fatigued with Trumps stunts every day. Jacinda is providing some solace to people, not just in NZ but around the world. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill

Your editorial (Victorias missteps created a harder, longer lockdown, October 19) primarily lays the blame for our comparatively larger number of deaths from COVID-19 than New Zealand in the hands of Daniel Andrews, despite the fact that 80per cent of the deaths in Victoria were in aged care homes, for which the federal government is responsible.While quarantine failures in Victoria were part of the problem, the NSW Ruby Princess issue was an equally egregious failure. Despite these transgressions, if one looks at the cases of COVID-19 around the world, there are few countries that have been more successful than Australia and for this we owe a debt of gratitude to all of our governments and health employees. Peter Nash, Fairlight

Congratulations to Daniel Andrews and Victorians for valuing lives over money. Yes, it has been tough, but through grit and determination, they are getting through this outbreak.Shame on federal ministers who criticise this plan because it has an effect on the economy. These ministers should instead support the Victorian economy through direct grants to certain businesses instead of wasting money on such things as $30 million overpayment for land at Badgerys Creek, or at least by re-directing sports grants and other unnecessary grants at this time. Ken Pares, Forster

Over the past 10 days, two national parks have been seriously damaged by failed so-called hazard reduction burning (Rain helps extinguish bushfire, October 19). Why arent those in charge consulting Indigenous experts in the management of small fires? All the wildlife can escape the fires with gentle starts and the land is cleared with trees saved and views protected. Lets stop this careless approach to clearing scrub and weeds and start using an intelligent and age-old approach that we understand works. Molly King, Mosman

North Head scorched, plants and animals damaged, a wedding reception ruined by back-burning getting out of control on a second weekend near Sydney.What, if anything, have the fire services learnt from Aboriginal peoples bush management knowledge and skills? After the last disastrous summer, it is way past time. Four years ago, the Herald published an important article Prevent bushfires the Aboriginal way: Indigenous peoples deep knowledge of the bush and their use of fire to manage the land is the key to modern bushfire management (February 15, 2016). Same again this year. Weve had more than enough time to respect, learn and apply Aboriginal knowledge. Judy Cashmore, Glebe

Bushfire smoke is poisonous. The royal commission into last summers bushfires made that clear. Lets not forget, either, that Sydney had already been cloaked in smoke twice from hazard reduction burns before those genuine bushfires happened.Sydney is a big city with inherent air pollution. Quite apart from the actual dangers of the fire escaping, as has occurred twice in the past 10 days, why are these burns allowed to happen in metropolitan Sydney at all?Surely having mechanically created, compulsory firebreaks around all structures is more sensible, or the closely monitored, Indigenous-style so-called cool burns, leaving the main bush be, except at its perimeter. It seems to me the mega burns the authorities are so fond of are not sustainable, in metro Sydney at least. Tim Egan, Mosman

The Prime Minister doesnt think his government needs to take responsibility for the bursting of the travel bubble when travellers fly on to another state (More New Zealanders could go to Victoria despite objection, October 19). The question here, as with the Ruby Princess, is what does Border Force do? Judy Sherrington, Kensington

Illustration: John ShakespeareCredit:

An approximate haiku for Scott Morrison: PM, you can be sure/travel bubbles will burst/when they hit the ground. Jenifer Nicholls, Armadale (Vic)

If Peter Duttons Border Force cant stop planeloads of Kiwis invading Victoria and Western Australia when it already has their names, addresses and forward travel details, how is it going to stop more boatpeople? Jeremy Cornford, Kingscliff

The Liberal Party has eased up on its koala protection bill (Liberals back down on koala bill, October 17-18), giving their National Party coalition partners what they wanted. The timing is interesting as this has happened when the Liberals would have needed the Nationals support to stave off a vote of no confidence in the Premier from the opposition. It seems keeping the Premier in her political habitat far outways the importance of protecting our native animals in theirs. Tina Butler, Bilgola Plateau

Its terrific that Australia Posts departing executives receive large payouts (Top dollar, CBD, October 19) while an eight-year-old Birchgrove girl waits two and a half weeks for a now-past-the-date birthday card from her grandmother in Lane Cove. Sally Spurr, Lane Cove

There are surely Sydneysiders paying more in road tolls than income tax (Where it hurts: tolls drive wedge though city, October 19). High private tolls are trickle-up economics. The toll distribution is quite striking: the better public transport services are, the lower the average toll paid. The figures show that a radial rail structure helps a small proportion of the metropolitan area: well-off Sydney city residents pay the least tolls.The state governments plan foresees decades of expenditure on radial railways, to achieve the same effect for Parramatta. Our transport priority should be a rail grid that allows people to commute east-west and north-south. Peter Egan, Artarmon

Kate McClymont details the convoluted processes undertaken by witnesses to destroy incriminating evidence: a computer program called Evidence Eliminator, plus hammers, shredders and other means (Ex-Newtown cop tangled in USs largest tax evasion case, October 19). So much easier in NSW; just take the tractor for a spin around the paddock. Rob Venables, Bermagui

Its not about direction (Letters, October 19). Its just that one has to be energetic around prepositions in case one is called on, passed over, shut down, railed against or snowed under while roaming around, having pushed through and got over coronavirus restrictions. Megan Brock, Summer Hill

Closed up. Opened up. Tucked up. Should we add signed up? Even signed off on. A document can be approved or signed, but physically, literally and metaphorically it cannot be signed off on. Richard Barraclough, Chisholm (ACT)

English uses lots of phrases that end in prepositions for various reasons. UP is often used to indicate the completion of an action, as in he locked UP the store. Of course we can also lock DOWN, lock IN and lock OUT. These constructions can really confuse people learning English as a second language. Keith Russell, Mayfield West

Not everything ends bottom-side up. Some go out with the bath water, thrown out, put out, shut out, tired out, shout out, sing out, called out, flew out, sent out, etc. And then there are the ins and outs of all the other prepositions. Joy Cooksey, Harrington

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Daryl and the pork barrel are an insult to taxpayers - Sydney Morning Herald

For much of the past few decades, an outsiders image of an explosive ordnance disposal sailor would likely evoke a brave soul conducting the dangerous but vital task of disabling an improvised explosive device, be it a crude fertilizer jug array in Afghanistan or something more complex on a road in Iraq.

But within the ranks, the 1,800-strong community has always been sea-based, and every EOD tech is also a certified diver tasked with clearing the way forward, no matter the domain.

Now, as the rest of the military continues to pivot toward preparing for a conventional war as part of the so-called great power competition, the EOD force has released a new strategic vision for the coming decade, and how it will contribute to that fight.

With the huge demand across the military for their kind of expertise in recent decades, the Navys EOD sailors were called upon to serve the vital role of clearing roads in Iraq and Afghanistan from IED threats, Capt. Richard Hayes, the commodore for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2, told reporters Thursday.

Now that we have less capacity dedicated to those land missions, we are spending a bit more time in the maritime domain, Hayes said. The water is our primary domain.

At the same time, the mission of clearing the way for other parts of the joint force in Iraq and Afghanistan is informing the EOD community as it again refocuses on the water, and the undersea domain in particular, Capt. Oscar Rojas, the commodore of EOD Group 1, added.

We make sure there is not a single waterway that we are not able to gain access to, Rojas said.

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While new efforts laid out in the strategic plan touch on everything from advancing the communitys cyber capabilities to fast-tracking the acquisition and development of new systems and a bevy of goals aimed at looking after the physical, social and mental well-being of EOD sailors, the pivot largely focuses on the Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures program, where EOD sailors deploy Mark 18 underwater drones from ships in order to clear areas of water.

The EOD force has had unmanned undersea vehicles, or UUVs, dating back to 2001, but the use of such vehicles really took off with the establishment of the ExMCM effort in 2012.

I think its pretty safe to say that no one is operating UUVs to the volume we are, Hayes said. Im talking globally we have elements of our commands putting UUVs in the water every day.

That program is also a big driver behind the EOD forces aim to expand its ranks and bring in new ratings not traditionally associated with the community.

To help beef up those ranks, the Navy announced earlier this month new rating conversion opportunities for sailors ranked E-1 to E-5 who are interested in joining the Navys diver and EOD programs.

The new strategic plan also acknowledges that, like the rest of the U.S. military, the EOD is entering an age of rapidly evolving technology and unknowns.

We can expect to encounter weapons that are more difficult to detect and locate, more dangerous to render safe and recover, more complicated to exploit, and for which we have no EOD technical manuals, the plan states. Meeting the challenge of networked munitions, interconnected sensors, and programmable electronics that can be controlled from anywhere in the world via the internet will require new EOD skills, equipment and procedures.

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After decades of ground war, Navy EODs are getting back to the sea - NavyTimes.com

ROSLYN With a wildfire burning out of control just five-and-a-half miles north of this Central Washington mountain town, Chris Martins neighbor came to him with a seemingly unorthodox proposition: Lets burn your woods. On purpose. Itll be a good thing.

Reese Lolley, whose employer, The Nature Conservancy, owned the parcel next to Martins property, was not proposing the awesome, awful sort of fire then sweeping over 36,000 acres on and around Jolly Mountain and threatening to torch Roslyn in the summer of 2017.

Lolleys fire would be small. It would creep across the dry brush and downed branches packing the understory of Martins woods on a ridge above Roslyn, the 959-person town just over the Cascade crest from Seattle that is best known for standing in for a fictional Alaskan town in the 1990s hit television show Northern Exposure.

Fire gentle, controlled fire is exactly what experts say is needed to address the huge wildfires tearing through parched forests east of the Cascade crest. Filled with dead wood and brush, many forests are growing more combustible by the year because of climate change and a century of misguided fire suppression. Those conditions now put communities at risk of annihilation by fire. This year saw half a dozen towns destroyed in Washington, Oregon and northern California.

In Washington, about 951,000 homes sit near forests threatened by wildfire. The most endangered communities lie in a swath extending from Spokane southwest to the Columbia River, and then running north past Wenatchee into the Methow Valley. Much of Central and Eastern Washington, in other words.

The state says the number of threatened homes is only set to grow.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources

Top 25 places most likely to be exposed to wildland fire in Washington.

Intentional burning of underbrush and dead trees prescribed fire to those who practice it is increasingly regarded as the key tool in making combustible forests fire-resistant and heading off megafires. But the technique is rarely used in the West, and prescribed fire rates actually decreased in the Northwest over the past two decades, one study showed.

Bucking the trend, Martin said yes to Lolley and, as the Jolly Mountain fire smoldered, foresters burned 12 acres of his land. In the years since, Martin has increased that amount ninefold and prompted the city of Roslyn to use fire to clear the underbrush in its municipal forest.

Honestly, that Jolly Mountain fire, to use a technical phrase, it was a change of underwear moment here in Roslyn, said Martin, who serves as Roslyns emergency management coordinator. I think our community had not really thought about fire. It was a big wake-up call.

Dan DeLong/InvestigateWest

Chris Martin sits among charred trees caused by a prescribed burn on his Roslyn property.

Planned burning down as wildfires rage

Aggressive firefighting has left forests across the western United States primed for megafires like those that devoured 1,600 square miles of Washington timberland in 2015, leaving an ashy gray moonscape where they flourished. Prescribed fire starves those apocalyptic burns while returning combustion to a biome built for it.

Following the U.S. Forest Services lead, land managers spent most of the 20th century extinguishing as many wildfires as they could, as fast as they could. On the dry slopes east of the Cascades, brush, branches and snags that wouldve burned then are burning now in forests packed too tightly for trees to stay healthy.

Dry forests like those surrounding Roslyn used to be seared every five to 10 years. Low-intensity fires, those that dont reach the crowns of trees, found ample tinder in the underbrush, saplings and fallen trees littering the forest floor. An ecosystem grew up around fires set by lightning and Native people, who used fire to cultivate staples like camas and to clear hunting ground for elk and deer.

Bold plans put forward by state leaders in late 2017 call for the intervention in 1,950 square miles of Washington forest. Prescribed fires would be set on hundreds of thousands of acres annually. The state governments leading evangelist for prescribed fire, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz, has been pushing state lawmakers for years to create a dedicated tax to fund the plan.

Dan DeLong/InvestigateWest

A firefighter watches a prescribed burn as it approaches a forest road that will be used to contain the fire in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Liberty in May 2019.

But Washington, like the rest of the West, has been slow to invest in prescribed burning. Trained fire workers are in short supply in the region, which has seen the acreage intentionally burned shrink even as a consensus for prescribed fire has formed. Ardent proponents note that, while burning could immediately protect towns and homes, decades will pass before prescribed fire has a meaningful impact on the growth of large fires.Returning to something approximating a natural fire cycle where less destructive blazes prune fire-prone forests would be the work of generations.

Prescribed fires burn low to the ground, removing combustible debris. It is a matter of physics: if flames can be kept short enough, fire on the forest floor doesnt climb the branches to the top of the trees and destroy them. Thinning treatments, which see people cut down, carry away or chop up detritus to clear the forest floor, have a similar impact at a significantly higher cost.

Dan DeLong/InvestigateWest

Savannah Herrera of the Roslyn Fire Departments Fuels Crew cuts the lower branches of a tree in the Roslyn Community Forest in August 2020. Herrera was part of a crew thinning the forest for wildfire management.

Whether that current political will and shift in public sentiment will succeed in returning fire to the forest, though, remains an open question.

Support for prescribed fire is climbing, but the actual practice is not, said Crystal Kolden, an assistant professor at University of CaliforniaMerced specializing in fire science. Reviewing fire records for a study published in April 2019, Kolden found the use of prescribed burning in the West hadnt increased from 1998 to 2018 and actually fell in Washington and Oregon.

Trends aside, the total number of treated acres remains tiny compared to the apparent need and proffered goals. According to the National Interagency Coordination Center, the federal governments fire hub, only 191 square miles in Washington and Oregon were treated with prescribed fire in 2019. While state-specific tallies were not available, experts agreed most of that fire burned in Oregon, where the state leaders recently relaxed restrictions on smoke created by prescribed fires.

When were talking about the forest that needs treatment and the amount of forest that weve treated, theres an order of magnitude difference between those numbers, Kolden said. Land managers, she continued, are struggling to keep up, and every year they fall farther behind.

At present, Washington lacks the capacity to return fire to the forest in force.

The state, like its West Coast neighbors, is short on trained fire practitioners and burdened with regulations formed decades ago when forest management almost always meant fire suppression. Regulators can deny a burn permit even after the crew has gathered on a remote site, making prescribed burns a chancy, expensive proposition.

Dan DeLong/InvestigateWest

A downed tree is engulfed in flames during a prescribed burn in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Liberty in May 2019.

Extreme fire seasons becoming the norm

Climate change is expected to intensify the frequency and severity of megafires across the United States, particularly in the dry western interior. Widely relied upon estimates predict the average summer will resemble extreme fire seasons like 2015, 2017 and 2020, when Seattles smoke-soaked air was at least briefly among the worst on the planet. By the 2080s, the acreage of Washington forest burned annually is expected to quadruple from the 20th century average as temperatures rise and snowpack shrinks.

The climactic shift will find Washingtons forests filled with debris left to pile during a century that saw naturally occurring fire heavily suppressed on most lands. With fire gone, a fire deficit deepens each year in the dry pine woods east of the Cascades.

In a recent study, Nature Conservancy researchers found that in Washington and Oregon just one-tenth of the forestland that should see fire each year does. Forest Service researchers estimate that the debt in unburned acres grows 140 square miles annually in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, which blankets 2,711 square miles on the eastern slopes of the Cascades. At current restoration rates, it would take 53 years to revive Washingtons federal lands, which comprise about 44% of Washington forestland.

Were trying to fix issues that took 100 years to get there, said Steve Hawkins, a fuel program manager now in his 40th fire season with the Forest Service. Its going to take a while to get that rectified.

Prescribed burning coupled with thinning createsconditions that can better accept fire, which is inevitable, said Paul Hessburg, aresearchlandscape ecologist with the Forest Services Pacific Northwest Research Station.

For five years, Hessburg has been traveling the Northwest giving talks onwildfirescience. He describes the effort as an experiment, a successful one, to determine whether a better understanding might encourage people to address the problem.

Hessburgs takeaway was that public perceptions around fire are changing for the better but tragically not fast enough to get ahead of the changing climate. His hope is that targeted interventions may prevent the worstoutcomes.

As Hessburg explains it, the question isnt can we regulate the size of the fires? Any influence will be modest the climate and weather mostly determine how much land is burned.

The question is, he said, Can we moderate the severity so that we can maintain more forest or habitats for the future? I think the answer is prettysolidthat we can.

Washington beginning to burn

Washingtons advocates for prescribed fire see the megafires that swept Washington in 2014 and 2015 as catalysts for the shift in public opinion they hope will enable them to do their work. Taken together, the fires burned 2,330 square miles of forest and rangeland and, along with fires in British Columbia, blanketed the Puget Sound in smoke for weeks. The cost in firefighting expenses alone topped $527 million.

The fires drew a vigorous, if standard, response from policy makers and shapers in the state. Committees coalesced, studies aimed at driving future legislation and funding launched. Training for so-called burners who conduct the prescribed fires, as well as community engagement initiatives, were created or expanded.

And, in a limited way, prescribed fires started being set.

Kara Karboski caught what she calls the fire bug setting fires for the Defense Department at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Karboski, now a coordinator with the Washington Resource Conservation & Development Council and a leading booster for prescribed fire, learned how burners go about their work while clearing brush on the military installations ample open spaces.

Before a fire, burners draw up a prescription a set of judgments on what weather and forest moistness is required for the burn to be safe and effective, as well as a staffing and equipment list, and detailed emergency plans. Hose lines are set and test fires lit before a crew of 10 or 20 workers set the fire in earnest.

Ive seen burns called off because its just not burning well enough, maybe theres too much moisture, Karboski said. Ive also been there where fire behavior has been too high, too much, too hot, and theyve said, Wow, this is too much for us to handle.

Weather conditions are assessed to attempt to ensure the fires smoke clears. Practitioners point out that prescribed fires rarely smolder for weeks or months like wildfires, and that the smoke is lighter and less hazardous. Research has shown prescribed fire also helps tamp down climate change. Thats because thinned forests with fewer, larger trees sequester more carbon dioxide, and are less likely to burn to ash if a wildfire reaches them, releasing all that CO2.

On the prescribed fire line, workers building black with drip torches char a box of burned ground around the area slated for fire, Karboski said. Once the fire is set inside, they keep watch for any embers that cross that line.

Dan DeLong/InvestigateWest

A firefighter uses an ignition tank to set underbrush on fire during a prescribed burn in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Liberty in May 2019.

Afterward, its not like its a blackened wasteland, Karboski said. The intention is to leave most of the trees still standing, so those are still there. And youll have spaces where the fire can get into, so you get more of a mosaic.

To Karboskis eye, prescribed burns in Washington have been kept too small.

Hundred-acre burns, she said, arent really getting us where you want to be.

Smoke regulations barriers to controlled burning

One of the few tangible actions taken following the 2015 firestorm, the worst fire year in state history, was a $1.7 million pilot project meant to assess Washingtons ability to use prescribed fire.

While proponents describe the project as a learning exercise crucial to expanding the use of fire in Washington, those lessons were hard won.

In the fall of 2016 and spring of 2017, fires were planned for 15 sites, 13 of which were in national forests. Tellingly, no privately held lands could be found to include in the pilot; private landowners have been put off prescribed fire by the bureaucratic hurdles, cost and liability concerns. Bringing fire to private lands is seen as a significant challenge to reviving Washingtons forests.

Although land managers selected the easiest spots, just one-third of the 13 square miles slated to burn during the project actually saw fire. One that did demonstrated a key argument against prescribed fire smoke.

For a week in the fall of 2016, smoke from prescribed fires hung in the semiarid, V-shaped valleys north of Leavenworth, the faux Bavarian tourist town west of Wenatchee that has moved into the forest, where glassy, loudly rectangular second homes increasingly share sight lines with the squat chalets built a generation before. Air quality fell to levels hazardous to people who are particularly susceptible to smoke.

Controlling smoke rivals containing the fire itself for the top spot on the to-do list of any prescribed fire manager, known as the burn boss. Washington law requires that a state meteorologist sign off on any burn the morning it is set to begin; crews gathered for the burns are sent home if that permission doesnt arrive.

The aging regulatory scheme governing smoke was drawn up at a time when industrial forestry filled Western Washington with smoke. The Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Ecology and the federal Environmental Protection Agency have been working on more permissive framework for years, but it is unlikely to receive a federal review until 2022 at the earliest.

Drawn up in the 1970s to satisfy requirements of the federal Clean Air Act, the smoke regulations last revised in the 1990s did not weigh the benefits of prescribed fire against its costs, said Lolley of The Nature Conservancy.

It really was focused on the reduction in emissions, but didnt really consider forest health, Lolley said.

Washington smoke regulations limit even the Forest Services prescribed burning. Though Oregons forests draw federal attention because they are more primed for intense, destructive fire, its also simply easier to burn in Oregon.

In the final report drawn from the pilot project, Department of Natural Resources researchers concluded that the regulatory framework keeps prescribed fire small and expensive by making larger burns impractical. Its a view shared by Karboski.

The system itself, she said, is set up to disincentive using fire.

Adam Bacher

Close-up image of Ponderosa pine bark burned in a 2015 megafire south of John Day, Oregon.

Incremental progress as concerns mount

Karboskis tempered frustration, one shared by many concerned for the forests and their neighbors, stems in part from fear.

While the intersection of urban areas and wildlands has long been a concern for those who worry about fire full time, the 2018 fire that destroyed Paradise, California, a town of 26,200 before it burned, laid bare the danger. Embers thrown miles by an intense fire in the neighboring forest set the town ablaze.

That the same could happen to Leavenworth, Roslyn or a host of other Washington mountain towns is beyond question. In Washington, homes and wildlands mix across more than 4,500 square miles, an area almost the size of Connecticut. Millions of acres of privately held timberland could be converted into subdivisions.

In Olympia, state land managers are drawing up watershed-centered plans to prioritize forest restoration in areas where fire is most likely, and most likely to be destructive. The idea is to shape the landscape and secure better options for firefighters when fire does break out.

State Forester George Geissler, of the Department of Natural Resources, describes the forthcoming plans as a granular examination of each watershed, looking at land ownership to find areas where intervention would be most successful.

The Forest Service, too, is considering a new targeted approach to prescribed fire. Prescribed burning would be used to create spaces that would slow large wildfires, increasing the likelihood that some could be allowed to burn while providing firefighters a safer space to work from when they intervene.

In an interview, Geissler ticked through the efforts underway. Assistance programs for landowners. Training initiatives to build a workforce. Changes in law to reduce restrictions on prescribed fire. The dialogue with the EPA to revise the smoke rules. His own appointment; Geissler, who had been serving as Oklahomas state forester, said he was hired two years ago specifically for his background in burning.

With each incremental change, we are making the opportunity to utilize prescribed fire greater, Geissler said.

Acknowledging that prescribed fire has been underused in Washington, Geissler cautioned that it is not a magic Band-Aid that can immediately fix what generations of fire suppression broke. He said he believes the public supports the work, and hopes Washingtonians including those in the Legislature will stay engaged.

We live in a society that if you cant get [something] done in two years you probably failed at it, and yet in forestry I was taught that 30 years is a short time, Geissler said.

The Nature Conservancys Lolley offered a similar view.

Were moving in the right direction, said Lolley, whose organization has been instrumental in training fire practitioners and bringing fire to privately owned lands. And I think we are getting smarter about how to prioritize the investments of money to have bigger gains.

But, Lolley allowed, at our current rate of treatment, it will make a difference, but its not near what we need.

The costs are substantial, and the benefits distant.

Advances in plywood manufacturing and heaters that burn pelletized scrap wood could conceivably make thinning less costly in some forests, but the forest restoration wont pay for itself. And while proponents contend restoration will save millions over the long run, firefighting costs will continue to rise even as the restoration work takes shape.

Behind the curve

Fire gently burns in the hills above Roslyn again, this time on the city-owned land bordering Martins property. The fire makes the town an exception, frustratingly so in Martins view.

Martin is enthusiastic about fires effect on his forest, which he bought to visit and protect from development. Since the fire, elk have returned to the newly open forest, as have turkey and bear. Hes proud that it may protect Roslyn the next time fire rises in the forests that surround it.

And yet he stops short of encouraging others to burn. The bureaucratic roadblocks, he said, are still too large for landowners without an abundance of money and energy to overcome.

In Washington state, we are far behind the curve on this stuff, Martin said.

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With nearly 1 million homes at risk, Washington is losing the wildfire fight - InvestigateWest

A Loveland man was trapped by the roaring fire in the Roosevelt National Forest until a helicopter whisked him away to safety. Fort Collins Coloradoan

Colton McDonald will be hard pressed to top his 30th birthday.

That's because it involved his first helicopter ride, being trapped in the Cameron Peak Fire and receiving a warm hug from his father when he returned to his Loveland home.

I was elated that I was out of there, for sure,'' McDonald said Thursday from his home. "But on the way home driving down the (Poudre) Canyon, I was processing the whole experience. I had set out to reconnect with nature. I had set out to catch a bunch of fish and have an adventure. And at the end I accomplished all that stuff.

Barely.

McDonald was the sole recreationist rescued via helicopter from the Cameron Peak Fire and is believed to be the last person in the fire that is raging in the Roosevelt National Forest west of Fort Collins.

He set out on a 10-day solo backpacking trip into the ruggedly beautiful Rawah Wilderness on Aug. 13, the day the fire started. He parked his vehicle at the Blue Lake Trailhead offColorado Highway 14 around sunrise and reached Blue Lake about noon.

He left the lake and was nearBlue Lake Pass around 1 p.m when he saidhe "distinctly heard a gunshot discharge.'' He said about a half hour later, he saw smoke from the area where the fire is believed to have started. He had not seen smoke before that time.

I initially thought the smoke was from another camper with a campfire,'' he said. "Then a half-hour later, that smoke got pretty significant and then I knew it wasnt just a campfire, that it was awildfire.

More: Cameron Peak Fire grows to nearly 16,500 acres; additional resources requested

Despite the fire, hecontinued heading north as planned, skirting the east face of the Medicine Bow Range to avoid the worst of the fire smoke,traveling about five or six miles a day, fishing lakes and camping. He said he had no idea how large the fire had gotten because he could only see one large plume of smoke.

Then the wildlife tipped him off.

After the first couple of days, I noticed an odd amount of deer, moose, bighorn sheep and lot ofbirds kind of following me,'' he said. "And so I kind of knew I was in the right area because all of the wildlife was fleeing to where I was, and wildlife knows where to go when there is a fire.''

"It was definitely on the back of my mind the whole time that it was probably developing, but I didn'texpect it to move as fast as it did, as wide as it did.''

On his fifth day, he figured his last camp was about 15 miles north of the fire. He thought if the fire made the Blue Lake Trail impassable that he would hike out the West Branch Trail to the Laramie River Road.

More: Wildfire map: Track smoke, fire from Cameron Peak Fire

At Blue Lake Pass, he was able to see he was in trouble the West Branch and Blue Lake trails wereboth blocked by fire.

"I could see flames coming from the trees, so I sat there thinking about my options,'' he said. "I had enough supplies to last another week or two, but I figuredthe fire was only going to get worse and that I was pretty much trapped.''

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So he reached for his Garmin Tracker GPS device, which he only started packing in December, and pushed the SOS button. An emergency team responded, and he explained his situation.

That definitely helped quench my fears,'' he said. "I was certainly a little anxious about the situation. But they had it under control and I knew I was in a good spot for the helicopter to land in an open field.''

He said on the second day of his trip, a helicopter flew over him at Island Lake, around 11,000 feet, likely searching for him after crews spotted his vehicle at the Blue Lake Trailheadparking lot.

"Im up there and this helicopter comes closer than Ive ever had a helicopter come to me,'' said McDonald, who saw planes and helicopters fighting the blaze almost daily."They do a couple of passes and Im like, 'I think they are checking me out.' The guy in the helicopter waves and I wave back. That was the only person I saw fromthen until they came and picked me up.

More: Fire investigators seek info on vehicle seen near small fire Friday near Cameron Peak Fire

But on Tuesday, the helicopter didn't fly away. It circled a couple of times before landing in anearby clearing.

They outfitted him with a helmet, ear plugs and maskand whisked him back to Colorado 14, where they landed so he could retrieve his vehicle, which had been towed a mile away because of the fire.

"I had never been in ahelicopter before, so it was pretty wild,'' he said. "The perspective of the fire up in the helicopter was incredible. It was both really terrifying and beautiful at the same time.''

He received an escort through the section of Colorado 14 that was blocked off because of the fire then made his way home where his father, CharlesMcDonald, was waiting.

"There was a big hug and then the humor kicks in,'' said Charles, who credited his son's Garmin Tracker for saving his life."I had confidence in Colton's skills and that he knew what he was doing. But it was a hell of a birthday present to have a helicopter bring him home.

Colton McDonald, who has lived in Lovelandfor three years and is a Colorado State University graduate,is an avid outdoorsman and has summited a dozen of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks. He said despite his recent anxious moments that he has plans to hike the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada someday.

"I could tell that my situation could be dangerous,'' said Colton McDonald, who works as atattoo artist and at Biochar Now in Berthoud. "At the same time, it is so freeing and sobeautiful just being in tune withthe natural system. A lot of people never experience that feeling. But there is a lot in those experiences.''

Reporter Miles Blumhardt looks for stories that impact your life. Be it news, outdoors, sports you name it, he wants to report it. Have a story idea? Contact him at milesblumhardt@coloradoan.com or on Twitter @MilesBlumhardt. Support his work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

Read or Share this story: https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2020/08/20/cameron-peak-fire-colorado-backpacker-tells-harrowing-rescue/5620978002/

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Backpacker tells of harrowing rescue from Cameron Peak Fire - Coloradoan

SUPPLIED

It is normal for farmers to burn off the land for pastoral use at this time of the year.

A bush fire has been spotted in the hills near St Arnaud, but a regional fire boss says it isnt something to be worried about.

Stuff received a tip-off just before 4pm on Monday afternoon about the fire which was on the hill 45km south-west of Wairau Valley township on SH63.

Fire and Emergency NZ Marlborough principal rural fire officer John Foley said it was a controlled burn off and this was normal at this time of the year.

When the weather permits, August and September is the time for the controlled burn, Foley said.

A number of high country farmers will be undertaking land clearing burns to bring the pasture back, he said.

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Controlled burn off near St Arnaud raises heart-rates, but is nothing to worry about - Stuff.co.nz

Belgium shocked by police brutality footage, which shows cop doing Nazi salute

BRUSSELS Belgium is in shock after a video emerges showing a Slovak man being violently pinned down by airport police officers in images that recalled the fate of George Floyd in the US.

The CCTV images, seen by AFP, date to February 2018, when Jozef Chovanec was taken off a plane in Charleroi, Belgium, after refusing to show his ticket as he boarded.

Chovanec, who died in the wake of the incident, was taken to a holding cell where he is seen in harrowing footage banging his head against the wall until his face bleeds heavily.

Several police officers are later seen entering the room to handcuff Chovanec. When this fails to calm him, they return to hold him down, with one sitting on his chest for 16 minutes.

During this particularly shocking sequence, a female officer is seen in the cell dancing and making a Nazi salute.

Chovanec was afterwards taken to hospital where he died the next day, officially of a heart attack.

According to her legal team, widow Henrieta Chovancova chose to make the video public against their advice as she had grown frustrated with the investigation, which has dragged on for two years.

Our client wanted to show these images to the world because she has no faith in the criminal investigation, says Lennert Dierickx, a member of the legal team that is led by Ann Van De Steen.

She felt the case was not being taken seriously, he adds.

Chovanecs death has been likened to the case of George Floyd, who died in May after a police officer knelt on his neck during his arrest in the United States.

I am just sad, widow Chovancova tells De Morgen newspaper.

It makes me feel even more that they tried to sweep my husbands death under the rug, as if he were garbage that had to disappear, she says.

The video was first reported by Het Laatse Nieuws, a Belgian daily.

AFP

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Thousands protest in Tel Aviv, elsewhere over suspected gang rape of 16-year-old - The Times of Israel