Thanks for highlighting this dangerous effort. The more I hear about project 2025, the more dystopian the world becomes. We need to ensure it does not happen.
I mean, I wouldn't think Project 2025 would have a sound plan on mitigating wildfires, but it's good to know exactly *why* it's bad. Thanks for the info.
These wealthy elitists and their paid for politicians don't care about people or the environment. They have their cozy castles to hide in when the bad weather comes to their neighborhoods. Strip the planet for profits is all that matters. Life is short, get what you can while you are still alive. They don't care about anyone or anything else. For them, money can buy them anything they want, for now.
All we can do is fight back as best as we can and survive as we can against the onslaught of big money and stupid governments.
Clearcuts on slopes leads to erosion. If we can't pass along fertile forest soils to the next generation, we are foolish and deserve the hate and wrath of young people who will have lost a supporting and sustaining resource. Why can't Republicans care about the future?
Yes, but the current rate at which thinning is happening or planned or funded is about 5% of what's needed. Most places, you gotta thin before burning. However terrible Project 2025 is, enviros/progressives/libs/whatever have not pushed through big enough programs to restore forest health.
Twenty five(?) years ago, something called the "Quincy Library Group" was convened in that town in CA. An agreement was reached for forest management that had a diverse mix of management including some logging. But some enviros thought the logging was too much, wouldn't compromise, and found some willing lib politicos and basically shut down almost all forest work nearby. In the last five years about 3/4 of the land area of the surrounding Plumas county has burned hard with resulting GHG releases among the other environmental wreckage.
The USFS needs LOTS of $$$$ to get this work done. Maybe some will come from cutting slightly larger trees than some folks would like. They will grow back.
Recently the NY Times had an article about a tribe doing this thinning and prescribed burning. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/09/science/redwoods-wildfires-indigenous-tribes-california.html It was not highlighted, but from the pictures you can see skidders with "salvaged" logs. Not just cutting three inch caliper undergrowth. And part of the reason this project proceeded at all was that "In 2022, the National Park Service and the Forest Service declared an emergency, which allowed them to forgo environmental assessments and immediately begin thinning."
We need boots on the ground, not interminable Environmental Impact Assessments circulating from one cubicle dweller to another Zoom review. There is always an environmental impact. Some folks can't handle that. I'm even fine with some clearcuts. I see firebreaks. There aren't enough folks in the woods to delicately thin and do "cultural burns" the way the tribes did on the required acreage. Also one reason now it's so expensive to utilize small timber is that the local mills were closed when almost all forest work stopped.
Thanks for highlighting this dangerous effort. The more I hear about project 2025, the more dystopian the world becomes. We need to ensure it does not happen.
I mean, I wouldn't think Project 2025 would have a sound plan on mitigating wildfires, but it's good to know exactly *why* it's bad. Thanks for the info.
HEATED is doing great work, and I like the list additional readings at the end. Thank you
Incredible article and an important one too!
"While Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025..."
He does this because he knows how articles like this and this series are holding him to account by showing his true ambitions.
Thank you for this series!
These wealthy elitists and their paid for politicians don't care about people or the environment. They have their cozy castles to hide in when the bad weather comes to their neighborhoods. Strip the planet for profits is all that matters. Life is short, get what you can while you are still alive. They don't care about anyone or anything else. For them, money can buy them anything they want, for now.
All we can do is fight back as best as we can and survive as we can against the onslaught of big money and stupid governments.
I get a lot of emails from Barrasso (and Manchin) about managing forests via logging. Like this: https://www.energy.senate.gov/2022/9/barrasso-manchin-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-reduce-wildfire-risk-improve-forest-health
I am glad you write this piece. There is not much attention to it in climate spaces, perhaps due to lack of knowledge.
So many reasons to be sure to vote!
Yikes. Just yikes.
Clearcuts on slopes leads to erosion. If we can't pass along fertile forest soils to the next generation, we are foolish and deserve the hate and wrath of young people who will have lost a supporting and sustaining resource. Why can't Republicans care about the future?
Yes, but the current rate at which thinning is happening or planned or funded is about 5% of what's needed. Most places, you gotta thin before burning. However terrible Project 2025 is, enviros/progressives/libs/whatever have not pushed through big enough programs to restore forest health.
Twenty five(?) years ago, something called the "Quincy Library Group" was convened in that town in CA. An agreement was reached for forest management that had a diverse mix of management including some logging. But some enviros thought the logging was too much, wouldn't compromise, and found some willing lib politicos and basically shut down almost all forest work nearby. In the last five years about 3/4 of the land area of the surrounding Plumas county has burned hard with resulting GHG releases among the other environmental wreckage.
The USFS needs LOTS of $$$$ to get this work done. Maybe some will come from cutting slightly larger trees than some folks would like. They will grow back.
Recently the NY Times had an article about a tribe doing this thinning and prescribed burning. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/09/science/redwoods-wildfires-indigenous-tribes-california.html It was not highlighted, but from the pictures you can see skidders with "salvaged" logs. Not just cutting three inch caliper undergrowth. And part of the reason this project proceeded at all was that "In 2022, the National Park Service and the Forest Service declared an emergency, which allowed them to forgo environmental assessments and immediately begin thinning."
We need boots on the ground, not interminable Environmental Impact Assessments circulating from one cubicle dweller to another Zoom review. There is always an environmental impact. Some folks can't handle that. I'm even fine with some clearcuts. I see firebreaks. There aren't enough folks in the woods to delicately thin and do "cultural burns" the way the tribes did on the required acreage. Also one reason now it's so expensive to utilize small timber is that the local mills were closed when almost all forest work stopped.