Comments from Doc on Forest Service "Management"

[Grumpy]

Weekly Message from Doc

Active Forest Management Needed to Prevent Catastrophic Wildfires, Protect Central Washington Communities


Washington, Nov 2 - Each year, wildfires in our nation’s federal forests damage or destroy an average of 3.7 million acres across the United States. Right here in Central Washington, more than a dozen fires over the past three months have ravaged over 120,000 acres. The Table Mountain Fire and the Wenatchee Complex Fire alone, both in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, damaged almost 100,000 acres.

These fires have devastated communities and destroyed hundreds of homes and farms. They have also destroyed the very habitat that the federal government has mandated is necessary to protect endangered species.

Unfortunately, poor federal management of millions of acres of forests is making the situation worse. The best way to keep our forests healthy and help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires is through active and responsible management of our federal forests.

Earlier this year, at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing that I chaired, a senior official of the Forest Service testified that 65 million acres of Forest Service lands are at “high risk of wildfire.â€