One of the assumptions behind federal legislation like the Resilient Federal Forest Act is that more thinning of our forests will halt or significantly reduce large wildfires. Yet the scientific evidence for such a conclusion is ambiguous at best.
Any number of studies have find that thinning usually fails under severe fire conditions.
First, . . . (From: www.thewildlifenews.com)
GR: I have long believed that the U. S. Forest Service uses taxpayer money to thin forests so that the trees will grow faster and let the timber companies cut the trees and take their profits sooner. There is no clear evidence that thinning was ever good for forest ecosystems. Now that temperatures are rising and fires are burning hotter, a massive network of fire brakes might be a much better idea.
