FOREST MANAGEMENT

Now nearly everyone, it seems, is in favour of more “forest management” to reduce fuel for california’s record wildfres. But there is a big difference between clearing overgrown brush and thinning dead trees, and neither is the same as clear-cutting acres of pristine forest. Those distinctions matter A lot As state and federal oficials scramble to prevent more wildfires From charring huge swaths of the state. It’s A no-brainer to trim tinder-dry brush, which only needs a spark to turn into a windwhipped inferno. Very selective thinning of trees and carefully planned burns also make sense. Clear-cutting does not. California’s forests are FAR more than Fuel For ires. Properly MANAGED, they provide HABITAT For wildlife, clean carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and are essential to watershed quality, especially in the Sierra Nevada. In clear-cutting, an extreme form of logging, all trees in an area are cut down, then herbicides applied before new seedlings are planted. That might be the most efficient and lucrative method for timber companies, But It is certainly not environmentally sound. Live, old-growth trees are the most resistant to ire and disease. AND before cutting live trees, there are plenty of dead trees across california – more than 129 million – to harvest irst. However, those crucial differences aren’t on the minds of president donald trump and his allies. The Sacramento Bee