Washington Hunter
Well-known member
Since it seems the Sierra Club is getting blamed for all the large wildfires in the last couple of years, I went to their website to see if they really are against prescribed burns, as many people seem to think. Being an environmental organization I had a hard time believing that they would support Smokey the Bear and his message that fires are bad. Well, I was glad to find out that I was right. Anyway here is something from their website:
Forest Fires:
Six Simple Questions and Answers
1. Q. Why are forest fires an important part of forest ecosystem health?
A. Fire is a natural part of the forest and has a role to play in any forest's lifecycle by clearing out brush and restoring nutrients to the soil. Fire is a natural part of the forest and has a role to play in healthy forests, just like sunshine and rain. Fire isn't necessarily good or bad -- just like sunshine or rain, too little can be harmful, and too much can be harmful.
2. Q: What are the main causes of wildfires?
A: For almost a century, the U.S. Forest Service focused on total fire suppression, snuffing fire's natural role; hot, dry, lightning-filled summers; irresponsible human activity along the extensive logging road system increases the number of fires; multi-year droughts in many states and commercial logging in our National Forests that increases fire risk.
3. Q: Some government officials have claimed that the Sierra Club opposes using prescribed burns as a means to prevent more catastrophic fires. Is this true?
A: In reality, the Sierra Club strongly supports prescribed burns as a way to restore fire's natural role to the forest. Sierra Club supports fuel reduction projects near homes and communities. For a decade the Sierra Club has been urging the Forest Service to do more prescribed burning, reduce flammable brush near communities and we've been asking Congress to devote more money to do the job right. The Forest Service should stop pushing for commercial logging and put more resources towards protecting lives and communities.
4. Q: Have too many lawsuits from the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations prevented the Forest Service from using prescribed burns and other measures to stop forest fires?
A: According to a General Accounting Office report, in 2001 the Forest Service designated 1671 hazardous fuel reduction projects. Of these projects 20 (about 1 percent) had been appealed and not one project had been litigated. (GAO-01-1114R)
5. Q: What role has fire suppression played in the current fires in the West?
A: Fire is a natural part of the forest and has a role to play in any forest's lifecycle by clearing out brush and restoring nutrients to the soil. But years of overly aggressive fire suppression have left many of our National Forests cluttered with small, highly flammable brush. Overly aggressive fire suppression and extensive logging have created unnatural conditions that lead to huge, hard-to-control fires.
6. Q: What role should the Forest Service play once a wildfire has started?
A: Once a fire has started, the main goal of the US Forest Service should be to safeguard lives and communities. The US Forest Service can help protect homes by focusing forest management around homes and communities and by helping homeowners take steps to make their homes more fire-safe. (For more info see www.firewise.org)
<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 12-16-2003 16:42: Message edited by: Washington Hunter ]</font>
Forest Fires:
Six Simple Questions and Answers
1. Q. Why are forest fires an important part of forest ecosystem health?
A. Fire is a natural part of the forest and has a role to play in any forest's lifecycle by clearing out brush and restoring nutrients to the soil. Fire is a natural part of the forest and has a role to play in healthy forests, just like sunshine and rain. Fire isn't necessarily good or bad -- just like sunshine or rain, too little can be harmful, and too much can be harmful.
2. Q: What are the main causes of wildfires?
A: For almost a century, the U.S. Forest Service focused on total fire suppression, snuffing fire's natural role; hot, dry, lightning-filled summers; irresponsible human activity along the extensive logging road system increases the number of fires; multi-year droughts in many states and commercial logging in our National Forests that increases fire risk.
3. Q: Some government officials have claimed that the Sierra Club opposes using prescribed burns as a means to prevent more catastrophic fires. Is this true?
A: In reality, the Sierra Club strongly supports prescribed burns as a way to restore fire's natural role to the forest. Sierra Club supports fuel reduction projects near homes and communities. For a decade the Sierra Club has been urging the Forest Service to do more prescribed burning, reduce flammable brush near communities and we've been asking Congress to devote more money to do the job right. The Forest Service should stop pushing for commercial logging and put more resources towards protecting lives and communities.
4. Q: Have too many lawsuits from the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations prevented the Forest Service from using prescribed burns and other measures to stop forest fires?
A: According to a General Accounting Office report, in 2001 the Forest Service designated 1671 hazardous fuel reduction projects. Of these projects 20 (about 1 percent) had been appealed and not one project had been litigated. (GAO-01-1114R)
5. Q: What role has fire suppression played in the current fires in the West?
A: Fire is a natural part of the forest and has a role to play in any forest's lifecycle by clearing out brush and restoring nutrients to the soil. But years of overly aggressive fire suppression have left many of our National Forests cluttered with small, highly flammable brush. Overly aggressive fire suppression and extensive logging have created unnatural conditions that lead to huge, hard-to-control fires.
6. Q: What role should the Forest Service play once a wildfire has started?
A: Once a fire has started, the main goal of the US Forest Service should be to safeguard lives and communities. The US Forest Service can help protect homes by focusing forest management around homes and communities and by helping homeowners take steps to make their homes more fire-safe. (For more info see www.firewise.org)
<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 12-16-2003 16:42: Message edited by: Washington Hunter ]</font>
