I have been a Forester for north of 50 years, and have worked in the timber/sawmill industry throughout North America. Our federal forests cannot be made fire proof, but can be managed economically over large landscapes to mitigate damaging fire behavior. However, it is not going to happen. Oh-as a result of the recent fires we might play around the edges on some federal lands, but the intensive forest management that was envisioned by Teddy and Gifford will likely not happen in our lifetime. When the Congress eliminates the “Equal Access to Justice Act”and takes the paydays away from the environmental litigants, you’ll know that once again we are becoming serious about forest management on our federal lands. CP.
