Treehuggers against trees
A brief article with a historical perspective on wildfires in the west. Here are a few paragraphs:
"With wildfires burning, it is useful to turn to the wisdom of the ancients. When the pioneers first entered the great forests of America, they found that the Native Americans had managed the forests for centuries. Their woodlands contained very few big trees—maybe fifty such trees per acre."
"In the 1890s, the average Ponderosa pine stand would have held twenty to sixty trees per acre. A century later, it holds three hundred to nine hundred trees."
"The wildfires we see year after year are in fact the result of well-meaning but foolish policies imposed to the detriment of forests, wildlife and people."
Link to Denver Post article.
"With wildfires burning, it is useful to turn to the wisdom of the ancients. When the pioneers first entered the great forests of America, they found that the Native Americans had managed the forests for centuries. Their woodlands contained very few big trees—maybe fifty such trees per acre."
"In the 1890s, the average Ponderosa pine stand would have held twenty to sixty trees per acre. A century later, it holds three hundred to nine hundred trees."
"The wildfires we see year after year are in fact the result of well-meaning but foolish policies imposed to the detriment of forests, wildlife and people."
Link to Denver Post article.
posted by Jay at
5/21/2008 02:30:00 PM
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1 Comments:
Common sense prevailed back then. Sometimes I think folks have just plain forgotten that trees are a renewable resource. That wood turned into some product stores carbon. And that populations will continue to grow and if any forest habitat is to survive it just can't be left alone - it must be managed to survive.
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