Subject: Re: [LPNY DISCUSS] forest fires
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 16:11:42 -0500
To:        <lpny_discuss@yahoogroups.com>
From:     Bob Armstrong <bob@cosy.com>
On Tue, 9 Mar 2004 11:42:37 -0800 (PST), Travis Pahl wrote:
>=A0On Tue, 9 Mar 2004, greghevia wrote:
> =A0Most
>=A0>=A0people in this country who own a forest, don't own much more=
 than a
>=A0>=A0few hundred acres. =A0Maybe a few thousand. =A0The gov't own=
 several
>=A0>=A0Million acres at a stretch.
>
>=A0private enterprises own large stretches of land as well.

 In the hundreds of thousands of acres at least .
 
>=A0>=A0Furthermore, is the gov't just supposed to let these=
 wildfires burn?
>
>=A0yes.
>
>=A0>=A0People live in the area, their houses will burn. =A0The fire=
 isn't going
>=A0>=A0to just stick to gov't land. =A0Houses were burning in=
 California, it was
>=A0>=A0on the news. =A0Our gov't HAS to put out the fires.
>
>=A0If they had beenletting the fires burn the fires would not be=
 large enough
>=A0to threaten homes (unless the people were stupid enough to not=
 create a
>=A0buffer zone between them and the forest.

 This is fantasy . Largely started by a cover article in=
 Scientific American
 back in the `60s or so on "The Ecology of Fire" which talked in=
 particular
 how Douglas Fir's bark allowed it to survive these fires . 

 It was the motivation for the Park Service to stop stoping fires=
 in , eg ,
 Yellowstone . On the assumption that these things happen with=
 some non-
 catastrophic frequency , then you have to answer why they didn't=
 for years
 after the decision let the wilderness be wilderness . Consider=
 the CA brush
 fires . That brush grows back to a state capable of another=
 disastrous fire
 in just a few years .  

>=A0>=A0Now it HAS to take care of the underbrush too.

 Who ever owns it does if they don't want it to go thru forest=
 clearing
 fire cycles . Good reason to sell it . I understand there exists=
 a
 market for the biomass which would be harvested .

>=A0Only to fix past mistakes, but hopefully they should learn (and=
 it appears
>=A0they have somewhat in recent years) and not continue making=
 such mistakes.
>
>=A0>=A0This is because people live there. =A0

 Right .  Such fires have gone on for ever . The difference now=
 is lots of
 people have lots of really nice homes scattered all thru them . =
 If they
 don't clear out the underbrush , fire will -- and it won't be=
 tame .

--=A0
=A0Bob Armstrong -- http://CoSy.com -- 212-285-1864