Posted on 10/14/2017 8:24:07 AM PDT by Twotone
Sam Krops characterization of catastrophic wildfire on public and privately owned forest lands (guest viewpoint, Oct. 4) doesnt match the reality of what Oregon experienced this summer. But I can see why Cascadia Wildlands and other special interest groups oppose solutions such as the Resilient Federal Forests Act. These bills untie the hands of our federal land managers, and provide them with more tools and resources to restore the health of our public forests, before and after a fire.
Has hands-off forest management reduced the size and severity of forest fires?
Are we choking on less wildfire smoke every summer?
Do we have more access to our public lands, and fewer closures of hiking trails and campgrounds due to hazardous trees?
I dont know anyone who is proposing to gut federal environmental protections and expedite irresponsible logging. Yet I do know activist groups have enjoyed a stranglehold over federal environmental policy for the past quarter century, and its time to review the results.
(Excerpt) Read more at registerguard.com ...
Perhaps the average voter should inform themselves on the reasons and methods of and for clear cutting.
All of the clear cuts that I worked on 55 years ago are grown up, but need another 50 or so years before they can be harvested again.
There was a story in the early 2000s about US Park Rangers complaining about air pollution from all the snowmobilers in the parks.
Some people are born under a dark cloud and never leave it, and want everybody else to be as miserable as they choose to be.
Fire regime condition class.
That’s what it’s called.
L
No, but they can fly.
When he was VT governor, former POTUS candidate Howard Dean had his land clear cut ($$$), then banned (exec order or signed into law) clear cutting.
If you are ever in the Coeur d’Alene area, stop and see the fire exhibit at the Museum of North Idaho.
I’ve seen the same in Idaho. They probably need to do controlled burns in the winter to clear these trees. Then plant something not so susceptible to that beetle. Assuming such exists.
Some clear cutting can be better for the land. Problem now is that bark beetles have left millions of board feet of standing deadwood in our forests. Two things can heal our forests... logging, or humongous forest fires.
Colorado is a mixed bag. On the one hand, I have heard that bad forestry practices are what allowed the beetles to be able to spread so badly. On the other hand, pretty early on, normal people won out over environmentalists and changed the rules to allow logging of the dead trees.
There is a whole industry that has grown for the last ten years of companies turning these diseased trees into wood pellets for wood stoves and other products. When they started logging beetle kill trees about ten years ago, nobody thought there would be an industry outside of wood pellets, because the beetles stain the wood. But stained wood has become fashionable now, and so many companies use it.
The FS, notwithstanding their “visit the forest” ads, is all about keeping their roads closed.
I was told they basically have a two year window to get any useful lumber from a beetle-killed tree, but I don't know if that applies if they're going to turn the tree into pellets. On the other hand, if they're going to turn the tree into wood pellets, I don't know if it's worth in monetarily to go after trees that are very difficult to reach.
Praise The LORD!!! How many died with their foolishness. So very, very sad.
That was an interesting link. Thanks!
Access to our National Parks is also under perpetual attack. I have extremely fond memories of going hiking with my family back in the 60’s up trails off the Westside Road on Mount Rainier. The road was “temporarily” closed after a rockslide one year, then never reopened.
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