#43 Postby azsnowman » Sat Jun 21, 2003 9:49 am
Burnt Offerings!
Half of once-picturesque Summerhaven is gone. So too is much hope for meaningful forest remediation to stave off the towering flames of crown fires in Arizona this season.
It is a year since Arizona's worst-ever wildfire, "Rodeo-Chediski," ravaged the eastern forests. And it is fair to say that, in that time, virtually nothing has changed in the state's public forests.
No, actually. Something has changed. The forests have become drier. They have become thick with dead and dying victims of bark beetles. They have become that which Arizonans could not have imagined possible when the billowing plumes of Rodeo-Chediski darkened the horizon: They are even more dangerous than ever.
As Summerhaven in southern Arizona burned this week, the debate over forest preservation played out in three relevant venues. One was in Montana at the Western Governors Association meetings. Another occurred in Prescott during public discussions over thinning projects there. And the third, a lawsuit filed by a New Mexico environmental group, just sort of sat there awaiting a federal judge's ruling.
The unifying theme of the three events is Seinfeldian: They have come to nothing.
In Montana, forest managers, forest industry reps and environmentalists at the governors' conference discussed how to proceed with forest-thinning projects. Their talks came to nothing. As reported by The Republic's Mary Jo Pitzl, participants concluded they had nothing to agree upon but disagreement.
Meanwhile, Summerhaven burned.
In Prescott, where a gust of wind last year during the "Indian" fire could have put the torch to Whiskey Row, a $15 million plan to thin 34,000 acres of public and private land will crawl through a painfully slow review process, likely until August. At that point it almost certainly will be appealed by environmentalists. Months of litigation will follow. Meanwhile, the bark beetle, which is not impressed by federal court injunctions, will continue providing hyperdry fodder for the next fiery holocaust.
Speaking of federal court, a judge is expected to rule, at long last, on whether a trio of salvage projects from the Rodeo-Chediski fire can proceed.
Of all the hyperbolic nuttiness and intransigence surrounding forest remediation, this one stands out as a prime example of how pointlessly tail-chasing the debate has become.
Officials at the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests wanted to salvage dead and fire-damaged trees on 19,000 acres, all near roads, power lines, fences or homes. They weren't seeking to tread upon the deep forest. They weren't even seeking to cut live trees. They simply sought to ameliorate the immediate dangers posed by dead or dying ones.
But, of course, the plan was appealed - in January, by the Forest Conservation Council of Santa Fe.
Meanwhile, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, which suffered enormously from Rodeo-Chediski, has nearly finished its salvage operations: good, because it constitutes wise stewardship; bad, because the tribe's product has glutted the market for fire-salvage trees, which typically carry a unique blue stain in the wood.
So even if the Forest Service gets court approval to proceed, current market conditions may preclude the effort. Salvage projects of timber from near Flagstaff have stalled for just that reason.
So, judges - at the behest of sanctimonious environmentalists from New Mexico - weigh the relative value of cutting dead trees 100 feet away from Arizona communities rather than 500 feet to a half- mile, as proposed by the Forest Service.
Meanwhile, Summerhaven burns. And Prescott, Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside and a host of other Arizona communities tremble, awaiting the next fireball to explode deep inside the forest. Trees must be cut, and they must start falling now.
Environmentalists can continue this sort of reckless indifference to disaster only for so long. It should be noted that no Arizona Greens participated in the Santa Fe group's lawsuit, and even Gov. Janet Napolitano, a genuine friend of environmentalists, cringed when the New Mexicans filed their suit.
The courts cannot be environmentalism's only friend. This week, the movement lost whatever friends it had in Summerhaven.
Summerhaven has burned. How many other friends will it lose before this latest season of fire ends?
Dennis
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I saw pictures on the TV of these massive fires, and they are very nasty... :o Stay safe guys and I'm praying for you!
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