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 →Lodgepole pine forests like these in the South Plateau Timber sale tend to burn at fire rotations of hundreds of years, yet the FS wants to log them to preclude a future fire that may not occur for a century or more. Photo George Wuerthner
The Custer Gallatin National Forest proposes to […]
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A recent article in the Blue Mountain Eagle Finding Common Ground on Active Forest Management quotes several people about restoring forest health. None of these people have expertise in forest ecology, except James Johnson from the OSU forestry school. The irony is that all these people, including Johnson, ignore the science from other scientists […]
Continue Reading →The wind-driven pattern of fire in the 1988 Yellowstone fires. Photo George Wuerthner
A new documentary titled The West Is Burning continues to promote a flawed narrative that large blazes are a consequence of “fire suppression” and “fuel build-up.” Starting from this perspective, it promotes policies like thinning the forest and prescribed […]
Continue Reading →Old-growth forest like this on Admiralty Island, Tongass National Forest should be protected as a carbon reserve. Photo by George Wuerthner
The Biden Administration supports protecting 30% of US lands by 2030 or what is termed the 30 x 30 proposal. One of the best ways to meet that 30 by 30 […]
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High elevation forests like the mountain hemlock seen here at Crater Lake have long intervals between fires. They only burn when there is the right combination of climate/weather. Fire suppression has had little influence on such forests. Photo George Wuerthner
The recent piece published in the December 22 Guardian titled: […]
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Old-growth grand fir on the Ochoco National Forest could be logged if the proposed removal of the 21-inch rule is adopted. Photo by George Wuerthner
The Forest Service has begun a 30 day comment period on its proposal to eliminate the 21-inch rule or what is known as […]
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Far more ignitions start by roads than in the backcountry. Ironically thinning forests will create more roads, hence more ignitions. Photo by George Wuerthner
Like zombies rising from the dead, legislators continue to push the flawed notion that logging can preclude large wildfires and protect communities.
The “Emergency Wildfire and […]
Continue Reading →Looking down Cache Creek from Republic Pass, Yellowstone NP, WY
One of the many excuses used to justify “thinning” and logging today is to preclude massive wildfires. Notwithstanding, there is considerable evidence that such actions do not impede large fires, which only occur during extreme fire weather; people still use this as an […]
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Note the lack of plant diversity on the left side of the path which was “treated” to “restore” the forest. Photos by George Wuerthner
These two images display a recent example of a forest “restoration” project designed to improve the “health” of a ponderosa pine forest. The area to the […]
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