[bray]

Go to that website and you will see a forester say those prescribed burns are the worst thing you can do.

[palmer]

I looked through www.ForestsforOregon.net but didn't see anything, positive or negative, about prescribed burns. Before 1800 there were 4 million acres burned in California, on average, every year. We are far short of that, with 250,000 federal and less than 20,000 state controlled fires.

Remember that controlled fire also means letting natural fires burn when it is safe instead of putting out fires until it is unsafe. Note that the regulations, which apply to federal lands, also apply to natural starts, not just prescribed burns. The federal government has figured out, more or less, that low intensity fire is a big benefit to forests, including to spotted owls and all the rest of the wildlife.

California believes that clean air is more important than healthy forests, wildlife, and rural residents. Their regulations against burning when it is safe means more high intensity fire when it is unsafe.

I agree with the foresters that forestry and private ownership is the best solution by far. But until we have that, we need to let low intensity fire do its job.