thinning
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Thinning is often justified on the assumption that reducing “fuels” will slow or stop large blazes, but there is more nuance to the issue than just fuels. Photo George Wuerthner One frequently hears from proponents of thinning that active forest management can reduce fire intensity and thus is a beneficial policy to reduce large…
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One hears continuously that the Forest Service doesn’t clearcut anymore. Of course, what constitutes a clearcut is subject to interpretation. The following photos are all taken on the Deschutes NF in Oregon. These are “forest thinning” projects designed to reduce wildfires and “improve” forest health. How many trees do you need to leave behind so…
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The North Bridger Range is a proposed wilderness. Photo George Wuerthner In an article in the Bozeman Chronicle about the North Bridger Timber sale, the Forest Service justifies logging the forests based on what it calls “forest health”. The agency claims logging will “restore” resiliency. But few ask what exactly constitutes a healthy forest ecosystem?…
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Post-fire logging (deceptively termed “salvage”) after the Pole Creek Fire on Deschutes NF removes carbon, biomass and degrades forest ecosystems. Photo George Wuerthner In a recent May 29 Bend Bulletin article, Senator Merkley asserted he “wants to boost spending on forest management by $1 billion annually through work, such as thinning and prescribed burning, to…
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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 warming temperatures. That is…
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Thinned lodgepole pine forest on Oregon’s Deschutes National Forest. As often is the case, thinning puts more “fine” fuels on the ground which can promote fire spread. Photo George Wuerthner Montana Senator Daines announced that he intends to reintroduce wildfire legislation co-sponsored by California Senator Diane Feinstein that, among other things, would speed up and…
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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 a billon dollars.…
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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. In other words,…