Chief on Fire Policy

I found this on the FS Twitter feed…

The federal wildland fire policy has not changed since 1995. Neither the direction issued last year nor my letter this year represented a shift in Forest Service policy for fighting fires. We always look at the conditions that exist around each fire season, our available resources, and then provide guidance to the field. It takes resources to suppress fires, and to manage them for resource benefits. We do have a set amount of expertise in this country but when we get a wildfire season like we did last year, we have to take some steps to manage just how much fire we can have on the landscape. So last year we asked forests to elevate decisions on wildfires to the regional forester. Based on this year’s projections, we no longer see that as a necessary step at this time.

4 thoughts on “Chief on Fire Policy”

  1. I can readily believe that USFS wildfire policy has not changed since 1995. What a mess. Just look at all of the acres burned, jobs lost, and wildlife killed — and most simply left to rot in place and/or burn again — since that time.

    The “policy” (at least) needs to be changed, and the sooner the better. Seventeen years of failure needs to be addressed, and should have been at least ten years ago. Our forests were in much, much better shape before phrases like “wildland fire” and acronyms such as “WUI” began to be invented to help rationalize the destruction of our public lands. This isn’t Global Warming, folks — it’s mismanagement plain and simple, and the proof is almost everywhere you look. Since 1995, at least.

    Reply
  2. “Based on this year’s projections, we no longer see that as a necessary step at this time.”

    Wow….I wonder who his prognosticators are? I’ve been deliberating on some investments in agricultural futures. Love to get a look at some of their data.

    Reply

Leave a Comment