A Need for Logging

Wildfires spark renewed push for forest thinning
Renewed calls go out to allow removal of small trees, brush
Hank Shaw
Capital Press

SACRAMENTO - Anyone living in Northern California knew this day would come.

Much of the region is forested and a century of fire suppression has clogged the woods with underbrush. All it needed was one lightning strike. It got 1,000 of them earlier this month.

More than a million acres have burned so far this fire season and more are expected before the rains come in October or November. Fifteen firefighters have died and 500 homes have burned.

A gathering of foresters, landowners, lawmakers and timber industry officials met at the Capitol last week to renew their push to allow the industry to thin stands of forest that the government has not let burn since the early 1900s. Read More

As we have watched these devastating forest fires over the last twenty years consuming this tremendous resource, more people are asking why this is happening. Anyone who works with the land realizes the importance of, and our ability to manage it for multiple uses, including logging. Proper logging makes a forest healthier, reduces the chances of a devastating fire, and allows us to utilize this renewable resource.