Replies

Grampa Dave, I care, and I live in Georgia. I suppose that being from a forest-rich state has something to do with it. I know western states are unique in that their forest cover is not uniform. For example, forest cover is kept to west of the Cascades, for the rain shadow on the leeward side prohibits forest growth. However, there is a small portion of forest in eastern Oregon.

I like the great outdoors, but I also value private property rights, viewing it as what makes America great. The eco-terrorists wish for no one to have private property rights and for everyone to be living in tight, clustered cities. The city of Portland, Oregon is one of the most regulated/zoned/planned cities in the country, as the city government, along with a large contingent of local citizens, has fallen to the environmentalist agenda. Portland is the only major metropolitan area that I know of that has an urban growth boundary, of which developers must pay a fine if they are to build outside the boundary. As all the available land fills in within the boundary, it is expanded.

In college, I studied a little urban planning, and most planners are not environmentalists, though there are environmental planners. Most are merely interested in cities, freeways, buildings, etc., and like to have a say in which the city develops. I also see a need for some planning, as zero zoning results in mostly unlivable conditions. I'm of the opinion that a private resident should be able to have his zoning changed upon his request granted that it is not totally extreme (heavy industry right beside a neighborhood).

Back to the forest, I think that it is very unfortunate. It's awfully suspicious. Over the past three years, the number of forest fires have exploded, engulfing Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Idaho and California two years ago, to today engulfing Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado and Utah.

forest cover is kept to west of the Cascades, for the rain shadow on the leeward side prohibits forest growth. However, there is a small portion of forest in eastern Oregon.

Unfortunately, prior to the Biscuit/Florence outbreak, most of Oregon's major fires have been on the east/dry side. Eastern Oregon is 4K' and higher, so there is a lot of forest due to elevation - mainly aspen/pine/ juniper as you descend. The juniper rolls into the sage, which burns like a son of a bitch. The west side receives alot of year round rain. It is rare to get a severe fire on the coastal range. We've had low humid/high temps on the west side this summer & little rain. This combined with the build up of an incredible amount of fuel in the form of downed timber has created the SW Oregon CAT 5 hurricane fire.