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 →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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The Dixie Fire charred 900,000 acre plus acres in 2021. The fire burned through numerous portions of the forest that had been thinned or even clearcut as seen in this photo. Photo George Wuerthner
A December 20th article in the New York Times declared California had a quiet fire season. […]
Continue Reading →Giant sequoia in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park. Photo George Wuerthner
I visited Yosemite National Park recently. I was dismayed to see the logging of large trees in the valley. According to the Park Superintendent, the justification for logging is “to use every tool at our disposal to save the forests […]
Continue Reading →The Sangre De Cristo Mountains of New Mexico where the Hermit Peak Fire occurred. Photo George Wuerthner
The Forest Service released a review of the Hermit Peak Fire, which began as a prescribed burn designed to reduce fuels in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Northern New Mexico. The Gallinas Watershed […]
Continue Reading →Fuel reductions are a major part of the Forest Service’s wildfire reduction plan. Photo George Wuerthner
Recently the Federal government released its Confronting Wildfire Crisis plan to control wildfires in the West. As with all previous programs, it focuses on removing “fuels” as its solution and calls for escalating fuel reductions […]
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The aftermath of the 2011 156,000-acre Los Conchas Blaze in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. Photo George Wuerthner
A recent commentary 30×30 not the answer to stop destructive wildfires by Jerry G. Schickedanz, has numerous inaccurate assumptions about wildfire.
His comments repeat many common misunderstandings of fire ecology and […]
Continue Reading →The open canopy of this logging operation on Kirk will promote fire spread by enhancing wind penetration. Photo George Wuerthner
I recently visited the Kirk Hill area in the Gallatin Range on the Custer Gallatin NF (CGNF) south of Bozeman. The CGNF had “thinned” the site as a fire prevention measure.
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Continue Reading →A high severity blaze on the Boise National Forest. Almost all large fires occur during extreme drought conditions. Photo George Wuerthner
One continuously hears from the timber industry and its allies that the present occurrence of large wildfires is primarily the result of 100 years of “fire suppression” and thus “abnormal” fuel […]
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