Without fire, snow pack declined

When fires are suppressed, people pretend to be forest fires.
Their forest management changes snow pack.  Who knew?

Picture is from a Japanese study and gives
an idea what "thinning" might be like.

Absent fires, tree density climbs in managed forests. (I believe this is not true of a climax forest but we don't have them)    With tighter canopy,less snow reaches the ground and the sheltered ground by the trees is slightly warmer.  University of Nevada researchers tried thinning strategies on the shores of Lake Tahoe and learned that removing mid-size leafy trees had the most impact.  (The linked article doesn't give numbers for the reader to judge).