High-severity blazes are critical to healthy forest ecosystems. Photo George Wuerthner I read yet another study circulated by UC Davis and doggedly promoted by the national media, encouraging more […]
Before and After Photos of Dixie Fire
In May, 2021 I happened to be traveling through northern California on my way to Lassen National Park. When I drove out of Chester, California, I encountered a number of […]
Fire Suppression Myths
Hardly a day goes by when we don’t hear in the media and from the Forest Service that fire suppression is responsible for the intensity and size of wildfires. According […]
The 99-year-old Grandmother Effect—How To View Fuel Reductions On Bootleg Fire.
The 400,000-acre Bootleg Fire created a mosaic burn pattern from unburned to high severity. Photo George Wuerthner The Capital Press, an Agricultural emphasis newspaper, recently ran a story about the […]
Senator Merkley On The Wrong Side Of Thinning Controversy
Clearcut and thinning near Susanville, CA failed to halt the spread of the Dixie Fire. Photo George Wuerthner I recently got a message from Oregon Senator Merkley announcing that he […]
LA Times Fire Article Lacks Context
This site by Chester, California was treated by thinning and even clearcutting (seen in the background) and later burned in the Dixie Fire. Photo George Wuerthner A recent article […]
Infrastructure Bill Promotes Subsidized Logging
Subsidized logging in the name of fuel reductions on the Deschutes National Forest in Oregon. Logging accounts for 35% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner Congress […]
Indian Burning-The False Solution to Large Blazes
Prescribed fire and cultural burning by Native Americans is often promoted as a means of reducing large blazes across the West. There are many reasons to question such assumptions. Photo […]