climate warming
-
I continuously see articles in the media about “good fire, ” defined as frequent and low–severity. In other words, such fire seldom kills mature trees. These fires, we are told, mimic “historical” conditions, creating “healthy” ecosystems by clearing away fuels without killing mature trees. A “good fire” by happy coincidence reduces high-severity blazes or so…
-
Roberts Fire near Glacier National Park, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner A few weeks ago, I attended a panel discussion about wildfires. All the panelists and the moderator suggested that large mega fires resulted from fuels that had attained unnatural levels due to a “hundred years of fire suppression.” The idea that fire suppression is responsible…
-
Logging lodgepole pine on the Deschutes NF in Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner Across the West, the Forest Service and logging proponents continue to mischaracterize forest health by the standards of the Industrial Forestry Paradigm. Under this logging juggernaut paradigm, any natural evolutionary agent that kills a tree, such as a drought, wildfire, insects, or…
-
Ponderosa pine in New Mexico Blue Range Wilderness. Photo George Wuerthner A new paper, Indigenous fire management and cross-scale fire climate relationships in the Southwest United States from 1500 to 1900 CE, was recently published. Based on solid scientific research, it makes the important point that indigenous fire management was local rather than landscape or…
-
The Rewilding the West proposal calls for the restoration of wolves across federal lands. Photo George Wuerthner The current Farm Bill, which Congress passed in 2018, is set to expire in 2023. Congress will undoubtedly enact a new Farm Bill. The Farm Bill provides an opportunity to incorporate the provisions of the Rewilding the West…
-
The Bridger Canyon Fire by Bozeman burned during a period of high winds and extreme drought. The resulting snag forest is considered by some to be an example of a “bad” fire. Photo George Wuerthner I continuously read articles by journalists and others who expound on fire issues that promotes several inaccuracies. Here’s just one…
-
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 large wildfires are looking in…