[Southack]

"We don't want to step one sawtooth toward the House bill, or the forests will really be in trouble," said Jay Watson, director of wild lands and fire programs for the Wilderness Society in California.

Supporters of the bill rejected the environmentalists' criticism.

"For those who have been so worried that we're going to log the forests to death, they have watched them burn to death," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. "It's high time we fix it."

[supercat]

"For those who have been so worried that we're going to log the forests to death, they have watched them burn to death," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. "It's high time we fix it."

Is there any sense in "saving" a forest which has burned totally to the ground? Perhaps someone needs to propose that once a forest has been so totally flattened it no longer needs "protection" and the land should be freed for development.

Note that this could be dangerous in that it could encourage would-be developers to use arson to clear lands, but it would adjust the incentives for environmentalists.

[cake_crumb]

"For those who have been so worried that we're going to log the forests to death, they have watched them burn to death," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. "It's high time we fix it."

Hear, hear. The most heavily logged states in the Union are also the most heavily forested. In addition, these same states have the least devestating wildfires and healthiest forests. This is not an accident. This is forestry management. According to the environazis' "wisdom" such states should have run out of trees a long time ago.