Forests and Fires

We are seeing the results of an accumulated series of mismanagement procedures on our forests. This is not a sudden or new thing. It has been going on for years and we have for the most part been either sitting idly by or actually helped in the mismanagement process. Ms. Randi de Santa Anna is partially correct when she says that there is no easy way to thin our forests back down, but there is a way to achieve a portion of that goal.

A short lesson in history is in order. Years ago, we put fires out aggressively when they started. There were loggers in the woods and they had equipment and skills to jump right in and work on sudden starts. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the U.S. Forest Service had crews and capability as well. Logging reduced the overall fuel loads in many areas and then various methods were followed to try to establish the natural forest regeneration.

Fire was probably not used to its full potential, possibly because of the mindset of that era. However, the fact remains that even though we still had catastrophic fires upon occasion, they were not of the frequency of the present.

Then the world savers started saving the world. Cutting a green tree was bad and loggers and sawmills were destroyers of our natural order. Lawsuits over perceived endangered species -real or imagined - slowed and almost stopped a majority of logging in the U.S.

Instead of taking a realistic approach and maintaining economy and environment, we had to save it all with no use. The forest growth and fuel loads increased exponentially, added with the incredible bug kill on these “healthy” forests and we set the stage for just what we are now experiencing. We have gone from one extreme to the other.

This is no surprise to some folks who have been advocating for a more balanced and ever changing approach to the use of our natural resources. We need to quit taking a non-use format into our natural world. There are ways to address these issues but it is not by the policy of non-usage. By following a litigation minded mindset that is established by people that have no clue as to reality in nature-but have the time and money to push their agenda, we have allowed ourselves to be put into this present scenario.

An environmentalist is someone that seems to believe in no use of the resource. A conservationist is someone that believes in wise use of the resource. Think upon that.

I am not saying that I have the answers but I have seen this problem coming in our society and our forests for a long time and I am certainly no rocket scientist. Maybe instead of saying NO all the time we need to consider all the options-both past and present.

The next time that you see a picture of a cute little grizzly bear cub, Canadian lynx or spotted owl stop and think a little more about the big picture and how we all fit in. It will not be easy but nobody ever said life was a bowl of cherries.