Re: state of our forests

["Whitney Bass" <bass@bigsky.net>]

I think you could go on debating why our forests are in the state that they
are, forever.  But you can't possibly believe that the effects of our
management, or the lack thereof, has anything really to do with the fires
this year -- do you really think that all of the sudden, THIS year, the
(mis)management of the forests caught up to 'us', and we need to figure out
how to do things 'right', so this might not happen again??  I doubt it.  We
have a huge fire problem right now, because of the LACK of water (rain and
snow) -- and it's (almost) as simple as that.  Normally, we have lots of
snowfall, followed by a good couple months of rain.  In the spring of 1999,
we didn't get those couple months of rain, and last summer was a dry one.
Which was followed by a dry fall and a MILD winter -- we didn't get hardly
ANY snow.  Then this last spring came, and our reliable rain months, came up
horrifically 'short' -- do you see where I'm going with this??!! =-)  Which
brings us to this present 'extreme' fire situation.  Believe me, I've heard
all the arguments (Montanans seem to have little else on their minds), and
there are valid points made by each side.  Loggers and people who work in
the timber industry (a substantial number of them here in West. MT) tend to
blame the environmentalists.  They claim that because timber sales are
fairly consistently shut down by 'them', the forests are having a problem
with a build-up of "fuels", leading to fires that will go and go.  Then
there is the other side, who claim that it is the timber industry's greed
that caused such huge fire suppression efforts to take place over that last
however many decades.  And that it is the fire suppression that has led to
the huge fuel build-up in our forests.  I could argue either side. . .  but
there's really no reason.  If there is a huge shortage of water, the area is
going to be dry.  If it so happens that this shortage is in an area that is
known for it's summer lightning storm activity, fires are going to occur at
high rates.  Normally, only 20% of lightning strikes actually ignite
fires -- this year it's 70%.  Our last lightning storm (in west. MT),
started almost 80 new fires -- it's really a good thing that a vast majority
of Montana is not 'lived-in'.  We need rain, upon rain, upon rain.  Followed
by a nice, HARD winter.  Or we'll be having these same problems, this time,
next year. . Just my 2 cents!!

Whitney

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