[SCE] "it's in the dirt"

[Rue Furch]

I thought you might be interested in this editorial from Oregon....

Have a wonderful holiday week,
Rue


Editorial: It’s in the dirt
Published:
November 19, 2015 12:01AM
“Man — despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments — owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains.”

Soil conservation is an issue most Americans never think about.

Many who do are likely to associate it only with dryland farming and the Dust Bowl. But it has always deserved to be a matter of concern in the Pacific Northwest — even here on the wet side, where splash dams once dumped thousands of years’ accumulation of soil into rivers, lakes and bays.

A Facebook posting making the rounds in recent days is as true as it gets: “Man — despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments — owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains.” Rain we still have in abundance in the Pacific Northwest; topsoil, too, but we must pay more attention to it.

Researchers speaking Nov. 4 at the Geological Society of America meeting in Baltimore draw strong connections between increasing wildfires in the West, soil erosion and water-quality concerns. As recently described by Columbia Basin Bulletin, “Wildfires, which are on the rise throughout the West as a result of prolonged drought and climate change, can alter soil properties and make it more vulnerable to erosion. A new study shows that the increase in wildfires may double soil erosion in some Western U.S. states by 2050, and all that dirt ends up in streams, clogging creeks and degrading water quality.”

Scientific models predict erosion will increase by “at least 100 percent in a quarter of Western U.S. watersheds between the start of the 21st century and 2050, a surprisingly large increase in the amount of sediment to enter local streams. ... Two-thirds of Western watersheds are projected to experience at least a 10 percent increase in erosion by the middle of the 21st century.”

Much of this predicted erosion will happen in California — which still should worry us here, since much our food is grown there and since West Coast salmon seasons depend, in part, on the health of California watersheds.

However, fires in Oregon and Washington have a direct impact on water quality in our own region, degrading forestland, and fish and wildlife habitat. Eroded soil itself becomes a form of water pollution, containing minerals, nutrients and metals that can be toxic to fish and people. Dirt loosened by fires cover spawning areas in creeks and rivers, and prematurely fill reservoirs.

Researchers plan to do fine-scale mapping of erosion-prone areas; this may aid in preparing for how best to retain soil where it is supposed to be, instead of in rivers and reservoirs.

Beyond this, forestry policies must be fine-tuned to take fire danger and potential soil loss into account. In some places, logging can help avoid erosion from a future fire. More broadly, in national forests, much better thinning and maintenance is long overdue. Firefighting strategies may need refinements that place a premium on preserving soil for the future. U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are working on a worthwhile bipartisan bill that would improve communities’ fire preparation and address fire prevention funding issues.

The public can help by realizing how much human success depends on good, healthy dirt.