Free Republic

Apaches' bitter harvest Photos by Aaron J. Latham / Arizona Daily StarBIA forester Frederick von Bonin inspects timber. When emergency harvest is over, the Apache mainstay will be severely curbed for a century. This summer's Rodeo-Chediski fire, largest in Arizona's history, burned 276,507 acres of Apache land, 462,606 acres in all. Fresh snow shows through the stands of scorched forest almost as far as the eye can see on the White Mountain Apache Reservation. The tribe is harvesting a century's worth of timber in six months. Burned trees' loss transcends the economicBy Tom BealARIZONA DAILY STAR CIBECUE - The forests...

Speech before U.S. Senate by Senator Jon Kyl, R-Az, Sept. 17 2002 Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I would like to speak directly to the issues raised both by the majority leader and the Senator from Montana; specifically, with respect to how we are going to resolve issues related to the health of our forests. I know the discussion has greatly focused on fires and the catastrophic results of fires this year. I am going to talk about that to a great extent. But I would like to make a point at the very beginning which I hope we don't...

Driving through evacuated Show Low last night, an illuminated sign at a vacant fast food restaurant reading "Everything's Peachy" was hard to miss. That phrase may have described the restaurant's new product line, but it is a far cry from the situation here in the White Mountains. Having grown up in the area, I thought I would be prepared for the devastation as I toured the fire's perimeter. The destruction is much more complete than I thought possible. As of Monday, more than 300,000 acres have burned in "Rodeo-Chediski" fires alone, with the lightning season yet to come. As...