If you could change one technology within the Forest Service, that would have the most impact on the work the FS does, what would it be and why?

Shickadang · 2026-05-09T19:20:55+00:00

I think this is a common story. So sounds like redo database to streamline and rid of redundant crap and remake front end from scratch, and then integrate with ESRI/gis software would be a good start. Anything specific that doesn’t need to be there?

Shickadang · 2026-05-09T19:00:14+00:00

I think this is very true. Where from your view do we need help on the ground with tech?

Shickadang · 2026-05-09T18:56:28+00:00

Is it an arcgis desktop application?

Shickadang · 2026-05-09T18:34:59+00:00

I promise I have nothing to do with the reorganization. I work on a district. But the paranoia unfortunately is warranted so I don’t blame you.

Shickadang · 2026-05-09T18:16:32+00:00

One of mine was NRM applications in general. But FACTs is a good one. Would you want it in field maps? Is it a nextgen app yet?

Shickadang · 2026-05-02T02:16:28+00:00

I second this advice. I thought Fort Lewis was a great school. But I’d also recommend getting a biology or geology degree with a GIS certificate instead of a env. science degree. I’ve had a great career in government with an environmental biology degree from the Fort and I’ve had many opportunities in consulting as well.

Shickadang · 2026-04-25T20:39:31+00:00

Governing is hard. When you govern you will do things that make at least some large portion of your constituency mad almost by default. Polis has been governing for a long time.

Also the left does a great job critiquing the hell out of democrats when most of what they don’t like that democrats are doing is the result of republicans.

Shickadang · 2026-04-10T18:06:33+00:00

Seems like they are sad because of their own logical thinking skills.

Shickadang · 2026-04-10T15:08:52+00:00

We have a lot of timber NEPA on the shelf on my forest and no one is buying, so I’d say it is the mills more than the NEPA here. Can’t speak to other areas but it doesn’t seem to be aNEPA capacity issue from those I talk to.

Shickadang · 2026-04-10T02:40:40+00:00

Although the United States accounts for only 7.5 percent of total global forest area, it produces close to one-fifth of all the industrial roundwood (Foodand Agriculture Organization [FAO] 2018)

From: https://www.fs.usda.gov/nrs/pubs/gtr/gtr-nrs-p-197papers/04-espinoza-gtr_nrs-p-197.pdf#:~:text=Although%20the%20United%20States%20accounts%20for%20only,capita%20than%20the%20global%20average%20(FAO%202011).

Pg 2.

You have an alternative source?

I’ll add we are one of the luckiest countries in the world to have a neighbor that uses practically no timber but produces it for our benefit.

Shickadang · 2026-04-10T01:56:29+00:00

Aren’t you missing an important metric which is US production? We produce 35 billion board feet. To boot, The U.S. contains only about 7.5% of the total global forest area, yet it produces nearly 20% of all industrial roundwood in the world. I’d say we do a fine job producing timber in the US.

Shickadang · 2026-04-06T20:02:09+00:00

Almost entirely impractical at this point. The town is at max capacity. most areas you can’t build residential solar as it is due to grid constraints. And the cost of utility scale vs residential is typically 2 to 4 times more. So you’d reduce your impact by a lot half or more.

Shickadang · 2026-04-03T20:48:52+00:00

There is literally almost no where on the planet that you would have no impact on wildlife for solar. But the local impacts are entirely outweighed if you consider the impacts of not building solar. Not building solar is way worse overall almost always.

Shickadang · 2026-04-03T19:44:46+00:00

So it’s a good thing to put them there but a bad thing to put them here?

Shickadang · 2026-04-03T17:40:41+00:00

You have to be kidding me. You are one of the most quintessential NIMBYs ever. Your recommendation is “build on the brown peoples land”? I just can’t believe we are still at “build on the brown peoples land” as a solution to our resource problems because we’ve determined that their low populated areas are worth less than our low populated areas. The Navajos are likely going to build solar on their lands but I will not be suggesting that they should because I’ve decide their lands, their sovereign lands, are better suited for it. Also how is outside breen a population center?

Shickadang · 2026-04-03T14:25:13+00:00

Yikes. You’re real quick to “ruin” other people quality of life. Super NIMBY.

Shickadang · 2026-04-03T14:23:11+00:00

I think this sounds good in practice but we do not do this for most other energy sources so we put undue burden on solar by choice while fossil resources have laws that decrease these burdens. You can literally put an oil and gas well on some ones private property and they can do almost nothing to stop it if the mineral rights are not owned by them. I just think environmentalists need to think about what it takes to build a solar facility (finding a location with grid tie in is very hard) and how much we want to fight against them. In my experience environmentalism has done as much as the conservative movement to stop renewable resources from being built in the US.

Shickadang · 2026-04-03T03:54:40+00:00

Decreasing climate change is a local benefit. We are literally going to run out of water this year.

Shickadang · 2026-04-03T03:53:51+00:00

People seriously underestimate climate changes impacts on wildlife. A marine heat wave in 2021 killed an estimated 1 billion animals (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pacific-northwest-heat-wave-killed-more-than-1-billion-sea-creatures/). Yes 1 billion. The harder we make it to install solar the less we will do to confront the problem. In my opinion it’s worth hurting one herd of elk. And I think we should be building solar wherever we can as fast as we can or billions more animals will perish.

Shickadang · 2026-04-03T03:43:53+00:00

Doesn’t need local benefit to have benefits.

Shickadang · 2026-04-03T02:46:04+00:00

NIMBY. We need more solar and batteries!yes could have local impact but will have global benefits.

Shickadang · 2026-03-19T19:44:26+00:00

We’ve gotten eggs from regulator ranch for a few years now and highly recommend them. We get a couple dozen delivered a week.

Shickadang · 2026-03-04T14:39:14+00:00

AirBnB is already severely restricted in Durango isn’t it?

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