[Looking for Diogenes]

It's now clear that only PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS, WITH MOTIVE AND FREEDOM TO MANAGE FUELS IN FORESTS UNDER PRIVATE OVERSIGHT, can prevent catastrophic wildfires.

There was a discussion of Weyerhauser forest closures on another thread. Has anyone done a comparison of fire losses on Weyerhauser and GP lands, as compared to Forest Service lands? I think it would be quite revealing.

[Carry_Okie]

I am certain that private losses were lower. That does not mean that they have good forests from a total perspective. They tend to grow small, monocultured, even-aged trees very rapidly, producing relatively poor quality material. The reason for the policy is that they don't market the total range of benefits forests provide. Smaller landowners might actually be more competitive in that more management-intensive business.