>> My 30-acre redwood forest has grown much faster and healthier since we did selective thinning ten years ago. <<
All our national forests should be managed this way. It would cut down on forest fires and get timber to boot. Plus it would promote a healthy forest without fire.
Our natioanl forests were managed up until the endangered species act gave the preservationists the spotted owl to use as a surragate to file injunctions to prevent timber sales.
Since then they have successfully used fish other threatened spieces of insects,etc. to stop logging, mining, dam construction, windmill,etc,etc.