In case you missed

To the Editor:

Readers who only had time to skim the headline of the feature story on Aug. 4 will have missed understanding key information that was contained in reporter Guy Mccarthy's lengthy article.

The headline shared that conservation groups urge the new chief of the Forest Service to ramp up prescribed fires. But the article correctly described the environmental groups' letter as pressing for an increase in not just prescribed burning, but also thinning logging and biomass removal as well. The Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (CSERC) and other local conservation groups have worked for years to raise awareness that there is a great need for significantly increasing all three important forest treatments in order to get forests back to a healthier, fire-resistant condition.

Selective logging can open up overly dense, flammable forests. Biomass removal and prescribed burning can treat the surface and ladder fuels that often carry a rapid spread of fire. Doing far more of all three treatments is essential if public forests are going to be more resilient to extreme wildfire events, extreme drought stress, and periodic infestations of bark beetles.

Thanks to the Union Democrat for covering the topic. Hopefully those who saw the headline didn't get misled into thinking that conservation groups only endorse prescribed burning. We also embrace the need for science-based logging to thin overly-dense forests, along with economically feasible biomass removal. The local Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions (YSS) forest stakeholder group is on the forefront of seeking grants to help the Forest Service to ramp up all three important, highly needed forest treatments.

John Buckley

Twain Harte Executive director,

CSERC