“Thinning” project on the Wallowa Whitman NF in Oregon. The removal of trees by chainsaw medicine eliminates evolutionary agents that would otherwise naturally “thin” the forest. Photo George Wuerthner
The Forest Service and Forestry School researchers (funded by the Forest Service) continue to promote the idea that our forests are “unhealthy.” […]
Continue Reading →A few years ago, the Custer Gallatin National Forest thinned the area on Kirk Hill by Bozeman to reduce fuels.
As has been reported, one of the problems with any fuel reduction is that the probably that a fire will encounter it during the period when it’s potentially effective is very small–usually around 1%.
A […]
Continue Reading →Wildfire ravaged the community of Lahaina on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, and the death toll mounts. Are there any lessons to be learned from this tragedy?
The Lahaina fire offers some insights into why the current Forest Service policy of focusing on fuel reduction is misguided.
The wildfire began in grasslands and, driven by […]
Continue Reading →The burnt-out Safeway Store in Paradise, California. Even a big parking lot with no fuel could not prevent the loss of this structure due to wind-blown embers. Photo George Wuerthner
A new report from Headwaters Economics titled: “Missing the Mark: Effectiveness and Funding in Community Wildfire Risk Reduction” misses the mark […]
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This “thinning” is a clearcut all but in name. Wallowa Whitman National Forest, Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner
I recently gave a talk on wildfire issues in Baker City, a small town in Eastern Oregon. On my way home, I drove the Elkhorn Scenic By-way, traversing the Wallowa Whitman National Forest (WWNF), […]
Continue Reading →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, […]
Continue Reading →Heavily logged lands failed to preclude the 2007 Jocko Lake Fire near Seeley Lake, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner
Recently Senator Daines spoke at the Professional Fire Fighters conference in Bozeman. Daines advocated more management of our forests, believing that we can chainsaw our way to “forest health.”
Senator Daines can be forgiven […]
Continue Reading →The 1988 Fires burned approximately half of Yellowstone National Park and provided a significant natural laboratory to review the effects of wildfire on aquatic ecosystems. Photo George Wuerthner
Most people assume that wildfire harms aquatic ecosystems and fisheries. But such assumptions are being challenged by new research.
This narrative misleadingly portrays mixed-intensity […]
Continue Reading →Much of the debate in fire science is about the historical fire regime in dry conifer forests such as these ponderosa pine in the Ochoco Mountains of Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner
A critical paper discussing fire ecology and, by implication, fire policy was published in the Journal Fire.
The paper’s title: […]
Continue Reading →Many foresters want to be able to cut large grand fir like the one in this photo. Photo George Wuerthner
Recently Jim Petersen expressed in a March 1, 2023 Chieftain commentary that the Blue Mountains region needs more “active” forest management in the form of logging to preclude tree mortality due […]
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