King Fire

[daveb]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

psssst, Dave…wasn't talking about you!

Ha, I know where you're coming from but I just don't want my tin foil hat views starting a political war here.

[canoe4me]

Hey, I drove my wife to the starting line of the Tahoe Ironman in my Sportsmobile! She was all suited up at the starting line when the King Fire canceled the whole thing due to air quality.

Sportsmobile should do an official Ironman version version and they could sell it for a billion dollars. The Ironman crown is crazy to show off their Ironman status.
My wife drove the van to register and had to give 5 separate tours of the van just trying to get out of the parking lot at Squaw Valley.

[E350]

daveb: You will not offend me if you delete your post and insert smiley faces!

Jeffrey: People forget that the status quo is "Politics."

Only the status quo does not need a voice, because the status quo already exists.

So, people who are satisfied with the status quo need do no more than brand those who advocate for changing the status quo as "political."

That is why "change" always needs a voice.

That is what campfires are for. We can sit around the fire and talk. Not attack. Just talk.

Below is another informative post, which we can think and then talk about.

[E350]

Remember, I am not a forester. Just an observer of the forests where my wife and I primarily drive our Sportsmobile.

In response to my query if the Forest Service which is part of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (as opposed to the Park Service which is part of the U.S. Dept. of Interior) was fulfilling its mandate to promote forest agriculture (uhh... you guys and gals know that trees are an agricultural product right?), an actual forester says this:

"Gifford Pinchot and Teddy Roosevelt are taking turns rolling over in their respective graves! There are two laws (Organic Act of 1897 and the Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960) that the USFS, through the coercion of environmental groups, largely ignore. The Organic Act of 1897 obligates the federal government “to improve and protect the forest, .. [secure] favorable conditions of water flows, and to furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of the citizens of the U.S.” The Multiple Use - Sustained Yield Act of 1960 is a federal law passed by the United States Congress on June 12, 1960. This law authorizes and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and administer the renewable resources of timber, range, water, recreation and wildlife on the national forests for multiple use and sustained yield of the products and services."

Timber harvests have been reduced 78% since 1987 on our National Forests lands. These lands grow about 12.2 billion board feet annually and the harvest is about 2.5 billion board feet...so if you harvest below growth rates fuel accumulates over time. The growth is occurring on late successional species (more shade tolerant species) which are less fire resistant than the early successional species which are adapted to a fire environment (which most of our Sierra Nevadan forests were historically). Furthermore, current harvest levels on national forest and other federal lands remain insufficient to: 1) maintain forest health and resiliency, 2) control epidemic levels of insect damage, 3) reduce hazardous fuels to limit wildfire risk, 4) mitigate the effects of catastrophic wildfire, and 5) improve habitat for special status plants and animals. Despite such concerns, some groups and political leaders continue to advocate major restrictions or even total bans on commercial timber harvest on public forestlands.

The proof that they are ignoring these law is the closure of sawmills wherever the USFS owns significant timber lands (western United States). Forestry and wood products manufacturing employment, which is concentrated in the rural communities near forestlands continues on a downward trend. The United States is now a net importer of wood products. In 2005, imports of wood and paper products as a share of domestic consumption rose to 30%. To put this in perspective, we net import about 40% our oil needs.

Neal"

[bold in original.]

[LenS]

Can't really comment on this post. Michigan was clear cut border to border in the late 1800's. Lot of beautiful stumps to look at in the "new" growth forests. In the west though it is quite clear that the "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires" programs were not really well thought out. Now you are dealing with tinder box forests.

[E350]

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not blaming all Forest Service employees. Their involvement runs from mere participation in passive mismanagement to active arson:

Terry Lynn Barton has been released from prison after serving a six-year term for starting the worst wildfire in Colorado's recorded history.

Barton, 44, pleaded guilty to arson charges stemming from the 2002 Hayman Fire, which blackened 138,000 acres, destroyed 133 homes and forced more than 8,000 people to evacuate.

She was a fire spotter for the U.S. Forest Service at the time.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingne...uestid=7240665

[dhally]

I worked as an intern for a forester in the USFS in the 70's. At that time we were harvesting FASTER than regrowth, even though the law stated Sustained Yield.

Then came political pressure to work towards a sustained yield (remember the spotted owl?). It appears that the pendulum swung past Sustained Yield to Surplus Timber.

Eventually the pendulum will swing back the other way.