{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"BoS declares tree mortality emergency, prioritizes water projects","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":390,"description":"November 7, 2022 — The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution proclaiming a local emergency related to tree mortality last week. The Board also agreed to prioritize one water project per district and hire a consultant to organize what it will take to carry out the projects.\r\n\r\nSupervisor John Haschak noted that trees are dying off at an alarming rate in all the county’s ecosystems, due in large part to increased aridity and bark beetles. The bark beetles, which have long plagued fir trees, are now also making inroads in redwood and hardwood forests, which haven’t been stressed by the infestation until recently. He summed up what he hoped to accomplish with the resolution.\r\n\r\n“Not only do we need to replant trees, but we also need to create healthy forests,” he said. “That’s one of the critical issues in combating this tree mortality, is that our forests are stressed, not only from the aridity, the drought, but also from overcrowding and some of those other issues. So we need to look at the holistic approach of how do we manage these forests, and how do we create healthy forests? So if we can get grant funding to do that and focus on those kinds of issues, that’s what we’re trying to get.” \r\n\r\nHaschak added that he expects the resolution will bring the county in line with neighboring jurisdictions and the rest of the state, which in 2014 declared a tree mortality emergency. The declaration eight years ago stated that “the scale of this tree die-off is unprecedented in modern history;” and predicted that it will contribute to wildfires that will release thousands of tons of pollutants and be beyond the capacities of the firefighting systems in place. \r\n\r\nSupervisor Ted Williams had a provocative and still unanswered question about dead standing trees. “Supervisor Haschak, do you think it’s a good idea to continue poisoning trees, given that we already have so many dead from natural causes?” he asked.\r\n\r\n“Are you talking about Measure V?” Haschak asked....","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}