Active forest management is viewed as a solution to large blazes, but fails to acknowledge that climate is driving wildfire. It is true that if you completely remove forests, you won’t get a forest fire. Photo George Wuerthner
Proponents of “active forest management” or logging as a means of reducing […]
Continue Reading →
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 just passed the big infrastructure bill, and I expect President Biden will sign it—maybe before you read this commentary.
Funding is for […]
Continue Reading →Active forest management on private timberland just west of Chester, CA which was overrun by the Dixie Fire. Photo George Wuerthner
There has been a spate of pronouncements from politicians as different politically as Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines to California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsome arguing that we need more “active forest […]
Continue Reading →
The aftermath of the Las Conchas Blaze in 2011 in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. Photo George Wuerthner
An excellent overview of wildfire issues was published in the Revelator. https://therevelator.org/wildfire-archive/
I encourage folks to review it.
I especially appreciate the linkage of recent large fires to drought and […]
Continue Reading →
Large blazes like the Camp Fire which leveled this McDonald’s in Paradise CA are driven by extreme fire weather, particularly wind. Active forest management including thinning and prescribe fire does nothing to prevent such blazes. Photo George Wuerthner
Recently California Governor Newsom came out with a proposed fire budget of over […]
Continue Reading →
To many foresters and others who advocate for “active forest management,” a fire that results in high tree mortality is considered evidence of an “unhealthy” forest. Photo George Wuerthner
This past week I was invited to present my views on forest health and fire ecology to a group of Washington State […]
Continue Reading →Previously logged and thinned forest that burned at high severity in the Jocko Lakes Fire, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner
There are daily news stories about the recent large wildfires in 2020. In nearly all of these media accounts, the large blazes are almost always attributed to a lack of active forest management. […]
Continue Reading →MYTH: FUEL BUILD UP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR LARGE BLAZES?
A conventional narrative is that wildfires in the western U.S. are unprecedented and more extensive than in the past. This increase in fire acreage is attributed to “fuel build-up,” presumed to be the result of successful fire suppression. However, such assertions lack context. Compared to the […]
Continue Reading →In a message on wildfires I just got from Congressman Greg Walden, he asserts, “A lack of management has left us with overstocked federal forests full of fuel just waiting to burn.” Unfortunately, his statement is full of misinformation.
He neglects to put this into context. In the decades between the 1940s and 1980s, the […]
Continue Reading →Recently it was announced by Montana Senator Steven Daines that he plans to introduce a bipartisan bill with Senator Diane Feinstein of California to protect communities from wildfire.
The senators are concerned that wildfire season is getting worse and large fires are a threat to communities. On both counts, the senators are correct. However, the […]
Continue Reading →Subscribe to Blog via Email
Recent Posts
- A Greater Yellowstone National Park Proposal July 5, 2022
- Key Impacts of Livestock Production (not just grazing) Upon the Land. June 21, 2022
- Climate Not Fuels Drive Large Blazes June 21, 2022
- Wolves in the West are collateral damage of human selfishness June 16, 2022
- Targeted Grazing–The Latest Magical Solution To Improve Rangeland Health June 16, 2022
Recent Comments
- Johns David on A Greater Yellowstone National Park Proposal
- Michael Anthony on A Greater Yellowstone National Park Proposal
- Pamela W on A Greater Yellowstone National Park Proposal
- Michael Kellett on A Greater Yellowstone National Park Proposal
- Mark L on Wolves in the West are collateral damage of human selfishness
- Mark L on Wolves in the West are collateral damage of human selfishness
- John Glowa on A White Mountain National Park? Has its time arrived?
- Ida Lupine on A White Mountain National Park? Has its time arrived?
- Ida Lupine on A White Mountain National Park? Has its time arrived?
- John Glowa on A White Mountain National Park? Has its time arrived?
- Ida Lupine on A White Mountain National Park? Has its time arrived?
- Ida Lupine on A White Mountain National Park? Has its time arrived?
- Maximilian S Werner on Wolves in the West are collateral damage of human selfishness
- Rich on Wolves in the West are collateral damage of human selfishness
- Mark L on A White Mountain National Park? Has its time arrived?