with We are currently enjoying the unusually warm fall weather on The Lake of The Cherokees in Grove, Oklahoma. I was just reading an article from the Missoulian News Paper which was pointing out that over half of the western wildfires that have occurred on National Forest System lands in the past decade, were caused by human ignition. The article stated that there had been over 73,000 wildfires during the past 10 years and more than half were human caused. The reporter was interviewing someone that considered them self to be an environmentalist. The person was pointing out that this study's conclusion should help demonstrate the fact that you can not keep blaming the "Preservation Concept of Management" for all the problems pertaining to the management of our valuable forested lands. I totally agree!
I turned to the comment section of my linkedin, "Forestry", connection and began reading the few comments that had been posted about the article. One of the commenters pointed out that, in fact, much of the reason for the increase in number and magnitude of wildfires over the past 10 years must rest squarely on the shoulders of the U.S. Forest Service's management, or lack thereof, of our remaining forested acres. I also agree wholeheartedly with this conclusion! I do however, feel the need to expand on this comment. You all know from my previous posts, that I firmly believe significant change is required in the management of our remaining forest lands. I believe this change will have a direct impact on the severity and numbers of wildfires we experience annually. The problem we face with forestry is the same as the problem we have developed in agriculture. For efficiency reasons, we lump individual communities together and treat them as if they are all the same, thus destroying the natural diversity that was part of their original creation. We exacerbate the problem by thinking good management is planting the area with trees, sometimes even non-indigenous species. You simply can not regenerate a community from a seed bag following a single treatment for an area that includes numerous communities. We must also allow the local scientist to select the best tool for the job. Proper management to preserve or enhance health and diversity is the best solutions to reducing the severity and frequency of wildfires, as well as other catastrophic events, in our valuable forested lands.
Our planet is losing the equivalent acreage of twenty football fields to deforestation every minute. Projections indicate at this rate, we will denude our planet of trees within the next 700 years. The magnitude of the problem expands every year as we cover our heads and ignore the obvious! Sadly, it is not just forestry. In the last 48 hours, the State of Oklahoma has experienced 3 earth quakes as we destroy our home land in search of the remaining drops of fossil fuel. When will we learn from the past and change for the future? Will it be too late? THE SOLUTION WILL NOT BE FOUND IN EITHER THE MANAGEMENT CONCEPT OF "PRESERVATION" OR "CONSERVATION". WE MUST FOLLOW "NATURES WAY"!
I turned to the comment section of my linkedin, "Forestry", connection and began reading the few comments that had been posted about the article. One of the commenters pointed out that, in fact, much of the reason for the increase in number and magnitude of wildfires over the past 10 years must rest squarely on the shoulders of the U.S. Forest Service's management, or lack thereof, of our remaining forested acres. I also agree wholeheartedly with this conclusion! I do however, feel the need to expand on this comment. You all know from my previous posts, that I firmly believe significant change is required in the management of our remaining forest lands. I believe this change will have a direct impact on the severity and numbers of wildfires we experience annually. The problem we face with forestry is the same as the problem we have developed in agriculture. For efficiency reasons, we lump individual communities together and treat them as if they are all the same, thus destroying the natural diversity that was part of their original creation. We exacerbate the problem by thinking good management is planting the area with trees, sometimes even non-indigenous species. You simply can not regenerate a community from a seed bag following a single treatment for an area that includes numerous communities. We must also allow the local scientist to select the best tool for the job. Proper management to preserve or enhance health and diversity is the best solutions to reducing the severity and frequency of wildfires, as well as other catastrophic events, in our valuable forested lands.
Our planet is losing the equivalent acreage of twenty football fields to deforestation every minute. Projections indicate at this rate, we will denude our planet of trees within the next 700 years. The magnitude of the problem expands every year as we cover our heads and ignore the obvious! Sadly, it is not just forestry. In the last 48 hours, the State of Oklahoma has experienced 3 earth quakes as we destroy our home land in search of the remaining drops of fossil fuel. When will we learn from the past and change for the future? Will it be too late? THE SOLUTION WILL NOT BE FOUND IN EITHER THE MANAGEMENT CONCEPT OF "PRESERVATION" OR "CONSERVATION". WE MUST FOLLOW "NATURES WAY"!
