Dealing with drought- and beetle-induced pine death in the Sierra has become a problem because of there being so few mills left in CA and such a long haul to get to them. Was up in Kings Canyon over the summer and there were huge stacks of logs taken from along the road and private property, with many more dead ones tagged to go that will probably be dangerous if still in place in the winter. But no place to take them. Is it still "salvage" logging when you have to pay to have them cut and hauled away rather than getting paid for the logs? Is there a "temporary" job opening here for people with portable mills? None of this would help Orofino, of course, being way too far away.

The dead tree problem in the Sierra seems to be almost entirely pines, probably due to the beetles as much as the drought stress. For practical purposes, ALL of the pines up to at least 6K ft. altitude are dead or dying. Firs, sequoias, cedars seem to be doing generally OK though I'm sure they're stressed too. If we get enough water this winter to keep the other stuff alive the forest may continue, but without pines - which on the plus side might be the end for the pine beetles.