Dear HCN,
Joy Belsky, a staffer for
the Oregon Natural Desert Association, wrote a thoughtful letter
about matters of the imagination in the form of a critique of my
essay, “Los Alamos is burning” (HCN, 5/22/00: ‘Los Alamos is
burning’). By way of reply let me suggest that we don’t have to
imagine a zero-cut policy for our national forests. The
Salmon-Challis forest fire is an object lesson in the consequences
of a zero-cut policy. The fire burned old growth like a blowtorch
and only stopped when it hit forest stands that had been thinned
with chainsaws and burned with prescribed
fire.
What’s the point of continuing the old
refrain that the nasty old Forest Service caused all of our
problems? The problems are real and right in front of us in the
headlines about exploding wildfires and burning homes. Ms. Belsky
says she supports human management solutions and has even come up
with one herself. Great. The problem is she hasn’t found a way to
get her solution implemented. A great plan that is never executed
is not a great plan.
My essay was about getting
down to the work it will take to restore our forests to a
sustainable condition. Yes, that means thinning and thinning takes
axes and chainsaws, Congress or no Congress. It means spending some
Pew Foundation money to train thinning crews. I’ll bet the staff of
the Oregon Natural Desert Association can swing a mean ax. Heck,
even the Santa Fe Forest Guardians have stepped up to the plate. It
would be unfortunate if ONDA is content blaming Congress for not
appropriating money and unwilling to do the sweaty work it takes to
live in harmony and safety on a small
planet.
Frank
Carroll
Lewiston, Idaho
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Pick up an ax.
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