Comments on: Water Supplies at Risk From Fires in Dead Forests
By Matthew Koehler on 06-17-09
Be Afraid…Be Very Afraid!
Wow, the rhetoric and fear mongering is getting pretty deep! This time it’s about bark beetles. Well, at least it gave Denny Rehberg’s staff (hey wait, don’t they technically work for us?) another opportunity to put together another completely ridiculous press release and testimony. They are becoming quite good at the fear mongering that plays so well among Denny’s hard core supporters.
Apparently now trees that are hit by bark beetles don’t just turn yellow, they turn “mucus yellow” according to Rehberg. Eeeeewwwwweeee…I mean, how gross is that? Clearly we should just cut down all these “mucus yellow” trees to make room for the pretty green trees!
For those interested in the latest research and science concerning bark beetles, they may wish to check out this study here:
www.cfri.colostate.edu/docs/cfri_insect.pdf
The report, from some of the leading researchers on the topic, answers many common questions such as:
Do outbreaks of mountain pine beetles and other forest insects increase the risk of severe wildfires?
Does a large insect outbreak constitute an “emergency?”
Are forests with large amounts of insects and dead trees “unhealthy?”
I think some of the answers presented in this report may surprise people, including Rick Cables and Denny Rehberg and his staff.
By retfirefighter on 06-17-09
It is obvious that the ‘red forests’ are increasing at an alarming rate and still the obstructionists refuse to see the problem or allow any use of the dying forest.
We’re not to burn S. American forests but ours are “better burned”, can’t utilize any of our timber but we can buy our lumber from Canada and careful logging is dangerous to our watersheds but vast areas of denuded, mineral soil oozing into the once clean streams is somehow desirable.
I wonder where these people learn their fundamentals of economics, plant science, soils and common sense! Maybe it will take a disaster like a major watershed loss to drive the point into their logic.
They didn’t get their present standard of living by their predecessors wasting and burning their natural resources; too bad they can’t figure that out!
By grannysgadgets on 06-19-09
I suppose if you try real hard there is some form of beauty to be seen in whole hill sides of standing dead timber ( some areas are almost as bad as far as the eye can see) I bet the pine beattles find it appealing….....In my silly ol opinion, I would think that a healthy forest would have trees with green needles, not brown and dead, and that the dead trees should be removed to try to also remove the diseases, and then plant in the stead live trees…..... ( I could be wrong, but something tells me that if a spark ever happens around all that dead dry timber, it will turn to tinder, and boy talk about a hot distructive burn)
From there manage the forest for over growth, and health….
But again, I’m just a common every day person, what could I know against the minds of special interests !
The views expressed in the comments section do not reflect those of the Beacon.