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With over 90% of Utah experiencing extreme drought, 2021 is one of the driest years on record. This fire season has the potential to be one of the worst seasons yet. Mike Kuhns, USU extension forester, joins me today to talk about wildfire prevention.
How can we prepare for this fire season?
Mike Kuhns- Well, we re in it, so preparing could be a little late. If you need to remove large fuel from big trees and things, time is running out to get that done before possible risky fires.
It s hot right now in Salt Lake City, and the heat and dryness that goes with heat are a big part of increased fire risk. People know that removing fuel is important- what they don t realize that fuel is everything from a big pine tree in the front yard, to some shrubs growing next to the house to even a deck.
Commodity prices for corn and soybeans are strong heading into planting season, and many farmers with remaining supplies of 2020 crop are emptying their bins.
But just how long those same bins will hold the 2021 harvest is unclear, according to Ryan Stinoski, grain purchasing representative for Mark Hershey Farms in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He says farmers are faced with a gamble â lock in the current high prices and sell at harvest, or hold this yearâs crop in hopes that the value increases even more.
âIâve gotten more calls about forward contracting, but not necessarily guys locking in. With as tight as supplies are right now, they believe a lot could happen between now and the fall,â Stinoski said. âAny weather concern â a super dry summer â has the ability to make prices even stronger. In that regard, farmers are optimistic.â
A popular campground up Logan Canyon is getting a complete makeover thanks to new federal funds, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest officials have announced.
The Guinavah/Malibu campground will receive a little over $2 million from the Great American Outdoors Act for a host of renovations, including expanding parking space and a repaired amphitheater. The GAOA legislation âresponds to the growing $5 billion backlogâ of deferred maintenance on outdoor projects, including $1.5 billion worth of items like campgrounds, according to the U.S. Forest Serviceâs website.
In an interview, David Ashby, recreation manager with the Logan Ranger District, explained how these types of maintenance projects differ from smaller ones.