Forests Over Fascists
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe”
- John Muir
For decades, the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and many state, county, and non-governmental organizations have propagated the false idea that forests are overgrown due to past efforts to put out wildfires immediately. Although it is bad practice to put out wildfires immediately, their remedy for the situation, which is to thin forests and remove "fuels" (trees and flammable debris on the forest floor) in order to "reduce intensity and likelihood of fire," will do nothing to protect people and further harm our ecosystem. The financial and political incentives to perpetuate fire suppression policies have overridden reason, science, and experience.
These projects are detrimental for these reasons:
1. Soil Compaction/Disturbance/Pollution
Large logging trucks, harvesters, delimbers, wood chippers, skid loaders, and more are all heavy machinery used in thinning and "fuels" reduction projects. The weight of this machinery causes soil compaction, which affects the soil by drastically reducing drainage and water infiltration, limiting root growth, altering soil texture and soil structure, increasing likelihood of erosion, and limiting air and nutrition that plant roots require. The pollution comes from the heavy machinery and chainsaws leaking and spilling fuel, oil, lubricants, and hydraulic fluids.
2. CO2 emissions
Other than the obvious consumption of fuels to run the large machinery and chainsaws, removing trees from the forest releases a massive amount of CO2. Carbon emissions from logging in the U.S. are ten times higher than the emissions from wildfires and native bark beetle. Overall, about two-thirds of the carbon in trees that are logged for lumber quickly become greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Habitat Degradation
Habitat degradation is one of the main causes of the current 6th mass global extinction of species, entirely driven by humans. Deforestation, urbanization, and agricultural expansion are the main activities driving degradation. This results in a loss of quality in habitat; food, homes, breeding opportunities, and other things that species require to thrive and propagate. Insects are especially being affected by human activities and many use the trees and forest floor debris ("fuels") to survive the winter and reproduce.
4. Habitat Fragmentation
Another main cause of the mass extinction currently underway are continuous habitats being sliced and divided by roads, cities, extraction projects (logging), noise, and other human activity. When animals are isolated from other populations of wildlife, their opportunities for food, mates, shelter, and other needs for continuing their life cycle decrease. This leads to a decrease in genetic diversity and often local extinctions. The "edge effect" is another consequence of fragmentation where the edges of the fragmented habitat are now exposed to more wind, light, noise, and overall human interactions and activities.
5. Invasive plants
Invasive plants are spread into forests and natural areas mostly via roads. Logging operations help spread invasive plants through travel from other project areas and the compaction and disturbance of soil, creating ideal growing conditions for colonizing invasive plants such as cheat grass, tumble mustard, and many others. After thinning and "fuels" reduction projects, there is very often a fresh crop of these highly flammable and invasive plants that thrive because of the disturbed soil and increase of light coming through the canopy. Grass fires burn far more homes and acreage than forest fires, and travel 3-4 times faster than forest fires.
6. Waste of Public Resources
$7 billion dollars are spent on thinning and reducing "fuels" on our public lands yearly in the so-called u.s. This money could be far more useful if spent on evacuation strategies for communities, fire fighting technologies, early detection and warning systems, and home defense improvements. This money is happily given to NGOs and nonprofits (nature conservancy, watershed collectives, etc) and local governments for "treating" forests instead of the other proven measures mentioned above.
7. Noise
Operations often exceed decibel levels over 100. This is a negative for the loggers and surrounding community, including the wildlife. Many community members choose to move to areas in public lands to escape the noise of cities. Wildlife are affected by having to expend energy running and hiding from a perceived threat.
8. Needs Consistent Maintenance
As mentioned above, thinning and "fuels" reductions create ideal habitat for grasses and weeds, which are highly flammable. Herbicides are needed to keep these in check, further polluting the forest. If the managing entity has a bit more integrity, they will plant native seeds after a project, but without maintenance, most of those will fail to germinate and grow.
Boulder County's solution to this is to spray Rejuvra, which not only kills plants and poisons our soil and water, but prevents seedlings from sprouting, ensuring vast swaths of desolate land.
9. Creates ideal conditions for grass/brush fires
Thinning and "fuels" reduction projects create more space in the canopy for light to penetrate, allowing grasses and bushes to thrive. The wind is also able to penetrate into the forest more effectively, which causes more drying versus a dense and dark forest. Not all forests need to be dense and dark - they are just the main target of these projects. Historically, forests have been a complex mosaic of successional stages (different recovery stages from a disturbance like fire) that add diversity to the landscape. Mentioned above, grass fires are 3-4 times faster than forest fires and are the starting fuel perfect for fire brands (flying embers).
10. False Sense of Safety
The false belief that thinning and "fuels" reduction in forests will stop, limit severity, or slow wildfires misleads community members into believing that home hardening, early detection systems, and evacuation plans aren't necessary (or less so). This is putting folks in life-threatening situations. Fire brands (flying embers) can travel many miles and still be hot enough to ignite.
11. Cultural Cooptation
Indigenous cultural burns were (to the best available Traditional Ecological Knowledge and western science) for managing small areas nearby for food and building materials (such as berry producing bushes and young sprouts for basket weaving). They typically happened in lower elevation areas where lightning does not often strike. They did NOT burn every square mile of Turtle Island (so called north america). The Forest Service has effectively appropriated cultural burns to manage forests according to their needs (logging and financial/political incentives).
12. Human Hubris
A belief fundamental to western ideology is that humans know what's best for the environment and that we can manipulate it for our own good without consideration for life. We don't and shouldn't try and control the natural world. It has only caused the polycrisis (the very large issues that threaten life on earth such as climate change, 6th mass extinction, pollution, etc.) we live in currently.
13. Counter-productive
Complex habitats are ideal - any ecologist will agree. Homogenous habitats only supply resources to a specific group of wildlife over a wide area. Think large grass lawns, corn fields, large orchards, etc. We should NOT be managing our forests like some sort of suburban lawn or corn field. They are public and need to be wild to continue providing clean water, clean air, recreational activities, etc.
14. Inhibits Evolution
Interrupting the natural adaptation and evolution needed to survive in a changing climate is a horrible idea. Forests' genetics need to select themselves, instead of humans logging large areas. Limiting the genetic diversity is only going to limit their ability to survive our rapidly changing climate. Who are we to rob wild species of survival?
15. Boulder County Species of Concern
During the wildlife assessment surveys, biologists found species of concern including the Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Northern Flicker, Olive-Sided Flycatcher, Pine Siskin, Northern Goshawk, and Virginia’s Warbler. Low-growing juniper provides nesting cover, a food source for wintering birds, and is the host plant for the Juniper Hairstreak butterfly. "Species richness (diversity of species) was highest along the southern project boundary where mature mesic forest type and northern aspect provide areas of dense cover and complex habitat. Wildlife staff recommendations include retention of thermal and hiding cover, and structural diversity spanning this west-east corridor, considering its use by large mammal species such as moose, elk, and mule deer, but also black bear, coyote, and red fox" (From the project's 'Scope of Work'). These wildlife biologists describe that removing "fuels" (branches, juniper bushes, downed wood, etc.) will degrade the habitat for many species of concern, as well as many others.
The Significant Natural Community (SNC) of Quaking Aspen and Ponderosa plus the high amount of Geyer’s sedge area are significant due to their rarity in the Colorado Front Range and presence within a narrow elevational range. The Calypso Orchid was also found in the project area, another species of concern. Their micro-habitat is considered "fuels" to be removed. This species is extremely sensitive to disturbance because it relies on a specific mycorrhizal fungus for germination.
Take action here, or use these resources to learn more:
Books
Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate by Chad Hanson
Academic Publications
Front Range Post-Wildfire Tree Regeneration is Far Slower in Low-Density Forests
Front Range Wildfire Regime Study
Wildfires as an Ecosystem Service
Wildfire Risk Analysis Should Be Based on Climate Change and Housing Growth
In the News
Biology Insights:
Habitat Fragmentation: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
How Fast Do Wildfires Spread? The Science of Their Speed
Central Oregon Daily:
OSU "firebrands" study examines vegetation embers threat
Ecological Society of America:
Research shows aspen forests slow wildfire spread
Earth Island Journal:
Logging is the Lead Driver of Carbon Emissions from US Forests
JSTOR Daily:
What Happens to a Tree When It Dies?
Science Insights:
What Causes Extinction and How It Changes Ecosystems
Shun Waste:
Logging and Noise Pollution: A Disturbing Reality
Society of Environmental Journalists:
America's New Wildfire Risk Goes Beyond Forests
Rethinking Forest Management in the Pyrocene
Tyler Arboretum:
Wild Heritage:
"Active Management" Harms Forests - And It's About to Get a Whole Lot Worse
Wired:
How Invasive Plants are Fueling California's Wildfire Crisis