FOREST HEALTH IS FOCUS OF RALLY: Crowd blames environmental laws for fires

The Arizona Republic ^ | Mar. 25, 2003 | Mary Jo Pitzl

[madfly]

A revving chainsaw kicked off a rally Monday outside the state Capitol that blamed environmentalists for Arizona's fire-prone forests.

Although groups from the Audubon Society to the Center for Biological Diversity were the main targets, the crowd was also displeased with the U.S. Forest Service and wary of Gov. Janet Napolitano's plans for forest health.

[madfly]

Napolitano was not invited to Monday's event, and her natural-resources adviser said the governor does not support the green-bashing tone of the rally.

"It's very accusatory," Lori Faeth said. "It's not the direction we want to go in."
Faeth currently (Dec. 2002) serves as the Arizona lobbyist for the Nature Conservancy — one of the top environmental and conservation advocacy groups.

I could find no pictures. I had a promise from my friend an ex-TV camera man with a super digital camera, to take me to the rally and get loads of pics to post. He is brother-in-law of Lewis Tenney, one of the speakers who owns/owned Precision Lumber in Heber. He was also my ride, but he was a no-show and haven't seen him in two days. Sorry.

She said the issue will be tackled by a forest-health advisory group the governor is expected to name soon.

Oh goody. Here's a sample of her hand picked cronies.

Democratic governor-elect Janet Napolitano has tapped a real estate executive, a state senator, an environmentalist and a former aide to Al Gore to make up her national resources team.

Napolitano is nominating commercial real estate executive Mark Winkelman to head the Arizona Land Department, which oversees state-owned property and open spaces. Winkelman was active in Napolitano's campaign and is founder and managing partner of MGS Partners LLC.

Steve Owens will be the new director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Owens is an environmental lawyer who served as an aide to Al Gore when he represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate.

Democratic State Sen. Herb Guenther will lead the state Department of Water Resources. Guenther was re-elected in November, which creates a legislative vacancy that must be filled by a Democrat.

[afraidfortherepublic]

...blamed environmentalists for Arizona's fire-prone forests.

Interesting. I just spoke to the Wisconsin DNR Biologist at the Sports Show in Milwaukee on Sunday. He was blaming the lack of fires thinning the north woods and the lack of tree cutting for the reduction in the size of the deer herd.

The biologist said that the trees need to be cut and the downfall burned in order for the birch forests to come back (deer like baby birch trees). Our forest in the Upper Penninsula is too old and the birches have been choked and shaded out by evergreens and maples -- eliminating a prime source of food for the deer, so the herd moves south.

I guess the lesson is that whenever you mess with one element of nature, she fights back by making an adjustment elsewhere.

[madfly]

Thanks to EBUCK, AZFIRE.org for the in-your-face billboard that was the catalyst for this rally!

Thanks to Carry_Okie for writing the Press Release and helping out with answers to many emailed questions about the EnvironMENTAList true agenda and background and sharing his expertise on forest health.

You done good guys!

http://www.azfire.org/preleases/arizona/AZprelease.html

http://www.naturalprocess.net

http://www.AZFIRE.org

[Carry_Okie]

Democratic governor-elect Janet Napolitano has tapped a real estate executive, a state senator, an environmentalist and a former aide to Al Gore to make up her national resources team.

Damn! Looky there! They checked all the boxes in one sentence!

Racketeering, graft, and manipulation on a grand scale.

[madfly]

Damn! Looky there! They checked all the boxes in one sentence!

Racketeering, graft, and manipulation on a grand scale.

Yup! Looks like "All Others Need Not Apply!"

[countrydummy]

I wrote the reporter her is what I had to say:

Although I do not live in your neck of the woods, so to speak, I am living directly next to land owned by the National Park Service. In the year of 1998 we had a major ice/snow storm that brought hundreds of trees down. They are still there. Heaven forbid that we suffer a major drought! These dead trees would send a flame to the Heavens! Their branches broken off, the ruble underneath them, would be a catastrophe! It would burn and destroy homes, heritages, and the some of the most beautiful land in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.

So why am I writing you? Because I can see this type of fuel-load every day of my life and I do understand why there has to be responsible thinning and logging and salvaging of fuel loads! Otherwise, especially in the West were you do have major droughts, the land will turn "crispy cream" if someone does not get the picture!

I am respectfully yours,

Sheila Davis
Sisters of the River
http://www.newriverfriends.org

[farmfriend]

pinging the crowd.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[editor-surveyor]

Calling the Hogs!

Come and slurp it up!

Who is responsible for the fire? - Was it the EnvoroNAZI or the Environutzies?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Cuttnhorse]

...her natural-resources adviser said the governor does not support the green-bashing tone of the rally.

I like the tone, and it's long overdue! Until reasonable people understand that this is not about forest health, but is about control and power we conservatives will never win this battle.

We need to have an "in your face" approach...it has certainly worked for the environuts.

[sistergoldenhair]

Was it the EnvoroNAZI or the Environutzies?

They can't stand it when someone speaks in opposition.
Thanks for the ping.

[Doe Eyes]

Who is responsible for the fire? - Was it the EnvoroNAZI or the Environutzies? Inquiring minds want to know.

Exactly. If we would just let the logging industry cut down all of the trees on federal land there would be no forest fires. Nada, zilch, problem solved.

[WaterDragon]

Awesome! Good for those citizens!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!!

[antienvironmentalist]

Bumped.

[editor-surveyor]

" If we would just let the logging industry cut down all of the trees on federal land there would be no forest fires"

Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

The trees are literally growing faster than we could ever cut them. If we started now, using every lumberjack in the U.S. to cut trees as fast as they could, the forests would still be getting denser, not thinner.

[EBUCK]

Yah, they want a clearcut forest devoid of life. But instead they got a burnt out husk devoid of life, them's the breaks.

Flippin idiots didn't do enough "preservation" to "protect" the forest from fires I guess. After all, that's what "preservation" is for right, "protection" of the forests.

("quoted" words are words you should look up next chance you get)

[EBUCK]

Really seems to be picking up don't it? Thanks to Mad for the constant prodding some of us recieved in order for things to be done right!

[madfly]

Oh, thanks so much for doing this, Sheila. I hope it gets printed.

Please let us know if you get a reply.

Hope all is well with you. You are one of my FReeper heroes :)