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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Some experts say global warming is changing wooded regions across the nation, and Northwest timber industry workers are among those following the phenomenon amid concern it could eventually affect their livelihoods.
Glacier National Park is expected to be devoid of its namesake ice formations by 2040, according to U.S. Geological Survey scientists. What's more, the Earth's northern hemisphere has been growing greener over the last two decades as temperatures rise, according to NASA satellite images.
For the region's forests, these changes could have serious consequences, said Steven Running, an ecology professor from the University of Montana who was among speakers who addressed 100 loggers at the Intermountain Logging Conference in Spokane last week. They include increased insect plagues and less snowpack, which acts as a wildfire-prevention blanket.
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