Can Forest Thinning Prevent Fires?
It looks something like Sodom and Gomorrah in the Western United States this summer–all that fire, all that ash. First, it was Colorado, then Arizona . . . Now politicians from President Bush on down say it’s time that the federal government change its forest management ways, and that’s making things very hot indeed.Timber lobbyists and foresters say thin out some national forests as a means of fireproofing them and preventing more superfires; that means cutting trees — lots of them.Although the national debate is nascent, this much is clear: The Bush administration wants the forests thinned. During a stop in east-central Arizona, President Bush said the Forest Service should manage forests “so that they are healthy and viable and not become kindling boxes [sic].”That may be an easy political imperative to put into action in states like Montana and California, where many of the forests are bombs in search of a spark.But does the new political mood spell trouble for the relatively dam
