SamSaid!

BURNING ISSUE

     I like to consider myself an environmentalist  —  well, sort of. I was born and raised on the outskirts of a small town where the woods, fields, and streams were only minutes away. My friends and I climbed trees, picked berries, jumped rabbits and pheasants, waded through unnamed streams and generally enjoyed the great outdoors. The local river had few fish because of acidity due to coal spills from barges, and the skies were clouded by smoke from coke ovens. We were not comfortable with that. Forty years later, the fish are back in the river and the skies are clear.

     I didn't really appreciate the environment until I went west and saw the great vistas, rolling prairies, the great plains, the mountains, deserts, lakes, clear running streams and the big forests. For 12 years, my wife and I lived smack in the middle of the Tahoe National Forest on a property featuring tall lodgepole pines, jeffrey pines, red firs and white firs. Big trees.

     Every spring, we carefully removed combustible broken limbs, underbrush, and dead, diseased or dying trees so as to reduce the fire potential. In other parts of the country people worry about floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc., but we worried about fire. Then I read about the eco-wacko environmentalists who say, “leave the forest in its natural state  –  don't touch the combustible fuel on the ground”. Our local Forester said that was like putting a big pile of kindling wood in the middle of the living room so that if you have a fire it will be a big one.

     I just don't buy the notion that mother nature knows best and that man cannot tamper with that sacred domain. We breed animals, develop hybrid crops, and convert wasteland to productive purposes. but only after hassling with the eco-wackos out on the fringe. That's why I want to be sure that my environmental concerns are well removed from those knuckleheads. There is more forestland now that there was 300 years ago, and our air and water are better now than when the industrial revolution began.  Sensible environmentalists and industrialists can claim credit. Not so for the environmental ostriches.

     We need to manage the forests, not set them up for uncontrollable forest fires that cause extensive damages and fatalities. These people  either don't understand, or don't care. I can't decide which is worse.