Trees in Trouble

A troubling story of the devastating and compounding effects of climate change in the Western and Rocky Mountain states, told through in–depth reportage and conversations with ecologists, professional forest managers, park service scientists, burn boss, activists, and more. Climate change manifests in many ways across North America, but few as dramatic as the attacks on our western pine forests. In Trees in Trouble, Daniel Mathews tells the urgent story of this loss, accompanying burn crews and forest ecologists as they study the myriad risk factors and refine techniques for saving this important, limited resource. Mathews transports the reader from the exquisitely aromatic haze of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine groves to the fantastic gnarls and whorls of five–thousand–year–old bristlecone pines, from genetic test nurseries where white pine seedlings are deliberately infected with their mortal enemy to the hottest megafire sites and neighborhoods leveled by fire tornadoes or ember blizzards. Scrupulously researched, Trees in Trouble not only explores the devastating ripple effects of climate change, but also introduces us to the people devoting their lives to saving our forests. Mathews also offers hope: a new approach to managing western pine forests is underway. Trees in Trouble explores how we might succeed in sustaining our forests through the challenging transition to a new environment. Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, and British Columbia feature prominently in these pages, with extensive interviews with well over two dozen forestry and fire experts including ecologists, dendrologists, geneticists, fire researchers, and private organization advocates from the entire western region Acquired and edited by Founding Counterpoint Editor Jack Shoemaker Bookseller Praise for Trees in Trouble: "There is no bigger climate change issue facing those of us who live in the North American west than wildfire. Not just the human and economic impact of these blazes, but their affect on our forests, the literal lungs of the planet. In prose that makes complicated science readable—as in his popular natural history guides—writer Daniel Mathews brings compelling and urgent reportage to the issue in his new book, Trees in Trouble: Wildfires, Infestations, and Climate Change. In these pages Mathews identifies the urgent concerns, the conflicts between related agencies, and possible solutions to the problems that will only get worse if we don't act on them immediately. Equally compelling is his sharing of new knowledge about the wonder of trees, how they work, how they interact, and just how crucial they are to our survival. Trees in Trouble is an essential read for people concerned about the long term future of our continent." —Chris La Tray, Fact & Fiction Books (Missoula, MT) "Trees in Trouble, Daniel Mathews's focused study on the effects of climate change on pines in the American West, proves just how interconnected and fragile the webs holding our ecosystems together are. Mathews's travels through the changing West—one devastated by fire, drought, insect epidemics, and mass die-offs—reveals a future in which habitat and species loss will transform landscapes that to human eyes have endured forever. Alarming without being alarmist, Trees in Trouble is a book for everyone concerned with the immediate and distant future of our place in the wo