Posted on 07/06/2002 8:58:28 AM PDT by madfly
Udall calls for Hayman inquiry panel
Probe sought to ensure blaze won't be used to 'overlog,' build roads in forests to cut fire risk
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, News Washington Bureau
June 27, 2002
WASHINGTON --
Rep. Mark Udall has called for a special panel to investigate the Hayman Fire so the case is not used to justify widespread logging of the nation's public forests.In a letter to U.S. Forest Service chief Dale Bosworth, Udall said a panel including forestry experts, environmentalists and logging industry officials should use the 137,000-acre blaze six miles northwest Lake George as a case study to steer policy.
The fear is that a less diverse panel, or the Forest Service alone, might use the case to expand routine fuel-reduction programs into widespread logging, said Udall spokesman Lawrence Pacheco.
"The Hayman Fire should not be used as an excuse to overlog and build roads in the forest to reduce fire risk," Pacheco said. "There can be lessons in the Hayman Fire, where proper treatment in the red zones can reduce fire risk and create a forest condition where fires can be more manageable, less destructive."
Various lawmakers have accused environmentalists of putting up unnecessary barriers to block fuels-reduction programs in the national forests and roadless areas.
One of the most outspoken critics is Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Grand Junction, chairman of the House subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health.
Josh Penry, staff director for McInnis' committee, said Udall's idea is worth considering.
"The more science, the more information, the better," Penry said. "But the overwhelming anecdotal evidence we're hearing from the field is that in those areas (where fuels-reduction programs were in place), the fire dropped to the ground and the fire was easier to contain."
As of Wednesday, the Hayman Fire was 77 percent contained but still burning in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest near Lake George.
A portion of the fire had burned in areas that had been treated with small fuels-reduction projects. Udall said that when the crisis is over, the panel could evaluate how the fire spread through treated and untreated areas.
"Its purpose would be to focus on the future, rather than to attempt to assign blame for past events," Udall wrote.
In other fire news out of Washington on Wednesday, McInnis introduced a bill he hopes will reduce red tape to let foreign governments lend their firefighters to the efforts in the United States.
A 1988 law allows federal officials to enter agreements with foreign organizations willing to send firefighters, but some countries have balked because they worry their firefighters could be sued in the event of an accident. McInnis' bill would have foreign firefighters considered federal employees, making the government liable for lawsuits.
Yup, a soul-mate of Dianna ReGrette
Actually it is DeGette and she is our other card carrying sociallist rep from Denver proper. She took over from Patsy Schroder.
Oh, who cares...
She would be correct. ReGrette votes straight communist party. Denver and PRBoulder belong somewhere in Kalifornicatia.
FReegards
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.