Kevin Bruch, a logger from the Flathead, and Peter Kolb, MSU Extension Forestry Specialist, told a joint Senate-House natural resources committee that a century of fire suppression and recent climate trends have left Northern Rockies forests prone to large, high-intensity “mega fires,” and that large-scale mechanical thinning and market development for small trees are needed to reduce risk.

The presenters said restoring a historical mosaic of species and age classes — not a single statewide prescription — should guide policy. “It’s now far too late to use fire as the sole restoration agent,” Kevin Bruch said, arguing that mechanical removal of small, shade-tolerant trees is a necessary precursor to safely reintroducing low-intensity fire on many sites.

Why this matters: Committee members heard that unchecked canopy fires and expanding shade-tolerant understories increase drought stress, insect outbreaks and the likelihood of stand-replacing fires. Presenters warned that without new market outlets and sustained funding, needed treatments will remain uneconomic and large portions of forest will continue to burn at high intensity.

Bruch framed the problem historically and practically. He summarized the long-term shift away from frequent, low-intensity fires following early 20th-century federal suppression policies and said that those policies unintentionally favored shade-tolerant, fire-intolerant species that now create “fire ladders” into canopies. Bruch said the solution must include a new industry that can remove millions of acres of small-diameter trees while producing usable products and energy: “When fully developed, this new way forward will be capable of treating millions of acres of at risk forests, including those within the urban interface, all while generating and producing enormous amounts of electrical energy and structural lumber.”

Peter Kolb gave a scientific overview of how climate, species distribution and human history shape Montana forests. Kolb emphasized that climate operates on decadal scales — “climate is a 30-year minimum phenomenon” — and described how the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and El Niño/La Niña patterns strongly influence fire weather and regeneration success in the Northern Rockies. He said the region contains multiple fire regimes (frequent low-intensity fires in some valley bottoms; mixed- and stand-replacing fires elsewhere) and that a single management prescription across the state would be inappropriate.

Kolb cited quantitative comparisons used in his presentation: well-stocked ponderosa pine stands can yield about 12,000 board feet per acre (roughly two truckloads), while wetter grand fir/cedar-hemlock types can yield roughly 30,000 board feet per acre. He noted that a medium-sized Montana sawmill typically needs on the order of 30–40 million board feet per year to remain profitable, and that statewide harvest volume has fallen from roughly 1 billion board feet annually decades ago to under 300 million board feet in recent years.

Both presenters described how denser canopies reduce snow accumulation and raise drought stress: shaded canopies intercept snow and double transpiration demand, which can transform a 30-inch precipitation site effectively into a 15-inch site for tree regeneration. Kolb also described how beetle outbreaks interact with drought and fuel loading to produce large mortality events that then become fuel for severe fire.

On treatments and markets, Kolb and Bruch said that mechanical thinning to remove small understory trees is necessary on many sites before prescribed fire can be safely reintroduced. They emphasized the economic barrier: mechanized logging equipment is expensive and investors need multi‑year guaranteed wood supply to justify large capital investments. Kolb said private landowners currently supply a disproportionate share of logs (private land provides roughly 30% of logs from about 18% of forest land), and that federal land availability for harvest is limited by law and management decisions.

Committee members asked about historical clearcut controversies, wilderness, and how management affects local economies. Kolb and Bruch pointed to collaborative, place-based planning and cited the Salish-Kootenai tribe’s landscape plan as an example of a tribal program that has aimed to create a managed mosaic. Kolb added that “we can create irregular patches just like nature did” rather than square clearcuts.

Ending: Presenters urged legislators to consider targeted funding and market-development programs that would make sustained mechanical treatments economically viable, noting that without durable wood supply assurances many processors and contractors will not invest. The committee heard the material for policymaking but took no formal votes during the session.