1817 S. Main Street;
Ste. 10 · Salt Lake City, UT 84115 Ph (801) 466-4055 · Fax (801)
466-4057 www.uec-utah.org
September 2002
Information Sheet on Bush Fire Plan
As you may know, George Bush has come up with a "Healthy
Forests Initiative" that will negatively affect our National Forests
across the country. This proposal will dramatically increase the level of
logging on national forests and will in no uncertain terms cause grave, and
in many cases irreparable harm to native ecosystems and wildlife habitat.
In addition, he intends to 'relax' compliance with environmental laws and
deny the public the right to appeal or litigate the 'logging without laws'
his plan will allow. It is imperative that we get the following information
out to as many people as possible. The Utah Environmental Congress came up
with some talking points to reflect how Bush's 'one size fits all' logging
proposal for the nation will be disastrous for Utah's National Forests. Bush's
plan will not work for Utah's forests and it is wrong to exclude the public
from decisions affecting OUR public land.
UEC: Bush Addressed Forest Condition in his 'Healthy
Forest Initiative' for low elevation dry ponderosa pine and low elevation
Northwest Douglas Fir/Hemlock Forest types. Nothing in his proposal even closely
relates to the high elevation dry, slow growing forest types that cover Utah
and the intermountain West with the exception of the Ponderosa Pine Belts.
However, Utah only has about 5% of its Ponderosa Pine Belt left because the
Forest Service has systematically logged 95% of their fire resistant component,
all the while knowing full well that it was changing the fire regime in Ponderosa
Pine from cool under burn to hot stand replacement fire. (This is introductory
forestry 101 reading dating back to the 1950;s) Nothing in Bush's proposal
relates to Utah's spruce, fir, aspen, mixed conifer, lodgepole, pinyon-juniper,
or scrub oak, which largely comprise Utah's forest types, and all of which
have evolved and adapted to stand replacement fire events and not cool burns
on the forest floor.
BUSH: "While most natural fires burn at ground
level and at relatively low temperatures, these catastrophic fires burn at
extreme temperatures, destroying entire forests and sterilizing soils. These
extreme fires can even kill giant sequoia trees that have survived centuries
of natural fires. It can take as long as a century for forests to recover
from such severe fires."
UEC: Wrong, the overwhelming majority of 'natural burns'
in the Intermountain Region have been, are, and will continue to be hot stand
replacement fires.
BUSH: "These fires tend to burn at ground
level, generating low temperatures and moving relatively slowly. When burning
through forested areas, these fires remove underbrush and dead growth while
healthy, mature trees survive."
UEC: In Utah and the Intermountain West forests, the
overwhelming majority of forest types evolved with and need hot, uncontrollable,
stand replacement fires, not cool understory burns.
BUSH: "This fire season is among the worst
in modern history." More than 5.9 million acres have burned so far this
year, 500,000 acres more than the previous record-setting 2000 fire season,
and more than double the acreage of the 10-year average. "
UEC: Correct, If modern history spans only the last 10
years. The 80 year average is around 14 million acres burned each year. (When
building on a river flood plain, only the criminally negligent developers
use 10 year flood averages when data is available for 80 years.)
BUSH:" Fires are burning with greater speed
and intensity than ever before"
UEC: Not in Utah. Here, they are burning far less acreages. Studies
of stand structures and tree rings indicate that 400,000 acre + stand replacement
fires have been the rule, not the exception, in the high plateau forests of
south and central Utah.
BUSH: "Property Damage: This year more than
2,300 homes and structures were destroyed by wildfire, causing millions of
dollars in damage."
UEC: How many homeowners were adequately prepared for
fire, with non-flammable roofs and woody fuels cleared from the perimeter
of the structures? People who choose to live in or near a national forest
must take the personal responsibility to protect their personal property.
BUSH: "Spread of Invasive Plant Species:
Non-native woody plant species frequently invade burned areas. When weeds
become established they can dominate the plant cover over broad landscapes,
and become difficult and costly to control."
UEC: Logging and thinning will not fix that problem.
Grazing, roads and motorized OHV trails introduce the exotic seed stock to
the area, not the fire
BUSH: "Disease and Insect Infestations: Unless
diseased or insect-infested trees are swiftly removed, infestations and disease
can spread to healthy forests and private lands. Timely active management
actions are needed to remove diseased or infested trees."
UEC: In Utah and the Intermountain West, insect epidemics
are an integral part of the historical forest cycle. Big game species and
non-game wildlife, particularly many bird species, thrive in forests after
insect outbreaks. This is especially the case in Utah's high elevation spruce-fir
ecotype.
BUSH:" Faced with conditions that are ripe
for catastrophic and uncontrollable fires, firefighters are doing an outstanding
job this year, controlling over 99 percent of wildfires on initial attack.
For example, on July 14, 504 new fires started, but only five grew to burn
more than 500 acres). In this fire season alone, more than 500 large fires
have already been contained. But when fires escape initial efforts to control
them, they can become uncontrollable, costly and environmentally destructive."
UEC: In Utah, it is still a big mistake in terms of 'forest
health' to put these fires out. The forests need and have evolved with stand
replacement burns.
BUSH: "Another 2.5 million acres of federal
and private lands have been protected from insects and disease that contribute
to fire hazards."
UEC: In Utah, most of the insect epidemics are in the
spruce fir ecotype. It is actually harder to maintain a stand replacement
fire in this ecotype after an infestation. Either way though, the spruce-fir
needs to burn with stand replacement fires and not cool understory burns.
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