Prescribed Burn Arrest

[brocksw]

I keep waiting for someone to explain what the USFS is good at and so far nobody has.

I think they've done a good job managing their multiple use mandate aka balancing competing interests for natural resources like coal, oil, ESA protections, wildlife habitat, water, public access for recreation/hunting. Could you name specific districts or regions that have failed or struggled? Sure you could. You can also name districts that have done really well in certain areas and crappy in others. I think we all have complaints, things that don't make sense, things that frustrate us in some sense. But most of us don't want to burn it all down. We continue to show up to advocate for the change we think needs to happen.

I can't remember where I heard this analogy. But someone once compared working with federal agencies to marriage. Acknowledging the fact that, like marriage there are disagreements, things to work on, things to fix. But just because we have disagreements or things to fix, doesn't mean that we should go straight to a divorce. It doesn't mean we want to burn it all to the ground. There have been some great things accomplished within those federal agencies. Things that happened many decades ago but benefit us today. Good work done by wide swaths of federal employees and agencies, cooperating with regular citizens and stakeholders to get things done. In some cases, the USFS literally saved livelihoods. This is especially true when you looks back into the dirty 30s. These institutions are part of what separates us from the rest of the world in terms of management of natural resources for the good of the ALL the public.

 

[elkduds]

One of the most important roles of USFS, BLM and other federal land management is the protracted planning and regulation update process. It includes travel planning for roads, trails, motorized use, bicycles, and more. It includes resource management, timber, grazing, mining and watersheds. Both these processes are extremely legislated and proscribed. the process is contentious, politicized and yields disappointing results to many users, while satisfying others.

No question, staffing for maintenance and enforcement is sadly lacking, at least in the Pike and San Isabel national forests of Colorado where I spend most of my outdoor time.