| Fire is the
single greatest threat to Western forest lands. Lives of people, rural communities,
plants, animals and entire forests are at stake. Tree mortality in excess of 80 percent of
standing volume has been experienced in overstocked stands. Imminent fires in the Tahoe
basin may cause permanent ecological damage. We must move now from talk to action. |
Fire is
the single greatest threat to Western forest lands. In 1996, the United States suffered
its worst fire season in history. In California, uncontrollable wildfires whipped through
Yosemite National Park, threatened the giant redwoods of Sequoia National Park, and
incinerated tens of thousands of acres of old-growth, salmon-spawning grounds and critical
wildlife habitat in the Mendocino National Forest. Many lives at stake . . .
During the last decade, many of the forested areas in California, including the Lake
Tahoe basin, have sustained significant damage due to dense growth, drought, disease and
insect manifestation. Tree mortality in excess of 80 percent of standing volume has been
experienced in overstocked stands where past land use activities, successful fire
suppression strategies and failure to proactively control forest-stocking have combined to
create conditions that are ripe for catastrophic fires.
California has more than 7,000,000
citizens living in wildland areas. In these areas of high urban wildland inter-mix, such
as the Tahoe basin, the risks to loss of life and property are immense.
And not only will the lives of 2.3
million annual visitors to the Tahoe basin also be at risk in the event of a catastrophic
wildfire, but reports of potential fire also put at risk a regional economy totally
dedicated to tourism. The Sacramento Bee recently reported that the past few years, which
have seen an unusual period of harsh weather, forest fires and floods in national parks,
have steered travelers elsewhere.
Imminent fires may cause
permanent ecological damage . . .
These conditions are setting up the Lake Tahoe basin for fires that will be too hot,
destructive, dangerous and too ecologically, economically, aesthetically and socially
damaging to be acceptable. So now is the time to implement an aggressive and extensive
forest management program that integrates reduction of forest fuels through forest
thinning, pruning, removal of brush, insect-killed trees and subsequent prescribed fire
where safe.
Only immediate treatment of the
forest will save the Tahoe basin from significant damage and loss of life when - not if
-the time comes for fire to strike.
Future beauty of the land is at
risk . . .
According to Neil Sampson, a senior fellow at American Forests, the nation's oldest
citizens' conservation organization, the most lasting damage from fires in unhealthy
forests will be the least visible. When the fuel loads are excessively high, as is the
condition currently in the Tahoe basin, soils can be heated to the point of sterility.
Extremely hot fires destroy both organic matter and nutrients in the soil. With the
vegetative cover removed and some soils made water-repellant, an ordinary rainstorm
becomes an extraordinary event, causing severe soil erosion and flooding on already
fire-damaged land. In many places, the future of the land is at risk. Top soils that are
lost will be worthless for generations, perhaps permanently.
Must move from talk to action . .
.
California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Richard Wilson said he
believes that we can never accurately predict all the impacts of large catastrophic fires
or the effects of planned activities to reduce fire risks. But if we do not take the
initiative to mitigate these impacts and to reduce these risks, all we will know is that
we will fall further behind the increasing problem of fire in the Tahoe basin and
throughout the state. |