scrAPES Article 2: U.S starts Massive Forest Thinning Project by Tiffany Stecker and ClimateWire
Article Date: March 22, 2013
Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=us-starts-massive-forest-thinning-project
Within the state of Arizona, a number of wildfires have affected the forests within the region, causing millions in damge. The most recent fire (most noted by its size and its effect on the area) in the state was the Schultz fire that burned over 15,000 acres. The fire itself did not cause as much damage as the ensuing flood/landslide that occurred due to the fire stripping the hill side, allowing summer rains to come down on the smooth area causing the avalanche. In an attempt to minimize fire control costs as well as damage the area, and organization known as the "Forest Service" is implementing and forest thinning project. The goal of this project is to restore a fire regime within the area ( a cycle of fires that aids in dispersal of seeds and soil renewal. To do this, the plan is to thin the landscape of thick tangles of trees, leaving clumps of trees within open spaces for future wildfires. "...everybody is in a race. Everybody is trying to try to do things before the wildfire comes," said Jose "Pepe" Iñiguez, a landscape fire ecologist with the Rocky Mountain Research Station. His statement comes after implementation of the project.
After reading the article, the idea to minimize the potential of future "mega wildfire" seems to be a justified plan. Because Arizona is such a wildfire prone state, a plan to minimize destruction to forests as well as the surrounding region. As stated in the article, the idea is to restore the forest to a state where the area is aided by seed dispersal as well as allowing soil to renew itself, allowing new life to spawn within the area. This issue that worries me the greatest is the responsibility surrounding the project. There have been criticism surrounding the project concerning the Forest Service attempting to secure more funding for the project. The belief, is that the Forest service is really attempting to push for as much logging as they can get before the conclusion of the project. As well, the organization has not taken into account what the future landscape of the forest. In my opinion, the project should be observed closely by outside regulators or a third party organization to insure the integrity of the project. At the conclusion of the project, continued monitoring of the area should continue, to ensure that projected plans are going as coordinated.
After reading the article, the idea to minimize the potential of future "mega wildfire" seems to be a justified plan. Because Arizona is such a wildfire prone state, a plan to minimize destruction to forests as well as the surrounding region. As stated in the article, the idea is to restore the forest to a state where the area is aided by seed dispersal as well as allowing soil to renew itself, allowing new life to spawn within the area. This issue that worries me the greatest is the responsibility surrounding the project. There have been criticism surrounding the project concerning the Forest Service attempting to secure more funding for the project. The belief, is that the Forest service is really attempting to push for as much logging as they can get before the conclusion of the project. As well, the organization has not taken into account what the future landscape of the forest. In my opinion, the project should be observed closely by outside regulators or a third party organization to insure the integrity of the project. At the conclusion of the project, continued monitoring of the area should continue, to ensure that projected plans are going as coordinated.