Free Republic

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Western U.S. states, which had below-average rainfall last winter and are currently experiencing unusually dry weather, face a high risk of forest fires this summer, a local fire and land agency said on Monday. Paul Werth, a weather expert at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, said that a report due to be presented to state governors on Tuesday will warn of the increased risk of major wildfires breaking out over the coming months in a region of the United States that is especially prone to raging summer blazes. "The biggest reason in combination is the dry weather...

Deseret News, Saturday, June 14, 2003Leavitt is considering 'roadless rule' detourStates can apply for exemption to banBy Donna Kemp SpanglerDeseret Morning NewsGov. Mike Leavitt has never been a fan of the Clinton administration's so-called roadless rule that bans road building in 4 million acres of national forests in Utah.But now the Bush administration is giving states a way out, and Leavitt isn't saying what he plans to do. At least not yet. But he expressed his dislike for the rule. "We will review the policy and respond," Leavitt told the Deseret Morning News this week. "I had a lot of...

<p>Using fire retardant to stop the spread of wildfires is toxic to the environment, say activists who have filed a notice of intent to sue the federal government to stop the practice. When air tankers release retardant to contain a fire, it can pollute streams and kill marine life, the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE) said in its letter of intent to the Forest Service. The FSEEE wants the Forest Service to conduct studies and tests, particularly on endangered and threatened species, and acquire necessary permits before using retardant during future forest fires. House lawmakers said such a lawsuit banning retardant — which contains mostly fertilizer — would be frivolous and criticized the timing of the threat just prior to the summer wildfire season. "Honestly, are the people at FSEEE drinking the retardant?" said Rep. Richard W. Pombo, California Republican and chairman of the House Resources Committee. "Certainly something is responsible for retarding common sense and reality over there." A spokesman for the Forest Service said the service does not comment on pending legislation. No one was available at the National Interagency Fire Center Friday to discuss the use of retardant. Nearly 18 million gallons of retardant are used a year, and Andy Stahl, FSEEE executive director, said some retardant compounds contain cyanide and ammonium sulfate, which are toxic to fish. Some manufactures warn against dumping retardant into streams and the Forest Service has guidelines for pilots to maintain a 300-foot buffer, but "accidents happen," Mr. Stahl said. The Associated Press reported that accidental spills in Oregon "have been deadly." "Dumping a bomber-size load into a stream should be front-page news, yet the Forest Service does that at sufficient concentrations," Mr. Stahl said. Timothy Ingalsbee, director of the Western Fire Ecology Center, said the wildfires could be better contained by proactive management of fuels and prioritizing which fires to fight. "The problem we are in is from fighting all fires, in all places, at all times, and at all costs. We are fighting fires blindly because there is no firefighting plan and we are fighting fires without any thought to its cost," Mr. Ingalsbee said. The environmentalists say the government is not in compliance with the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, and should conduct an environmental impact statement and endangered species biological assessments. With more than 70 million acres of forest land designated at extreme risk of catastrophic wildfire, Mr. Pombo said, the idea of shelving retardant is "insane." "These radical environmental lawsuits are not just frivolous anymore. They are irresponsible and dangerous," Mr. Pombo said. President Bush's healthy forest initiative goes before the House tomorrow for a vote and would ease some government regulations and allow tree-thinning to prevent fires. If the plan fails, forests will have "bigger environmental problems than fertilizer," Mr. Pombo said. "Forest fires ruin wildlife habitat, contaminate water supplies, pollute the air, incinerate houses and kill people," Mr. Pombo said. The Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act require the government be given 60 days' notice to comply with the laws to avoid legal action. Mr. Stahl said the Forest Service can act in time to avoid court action. "There is really no reason why there should be litigation; 60 days is enough time," he said.</p>

<p>In 1995, a late-winter storm laid waste to hundreds of thousands of trees in a 35,000-acre area of the Six Rivers National Forest in California. Trees lay strewn across the forest floor, creating conditions particularly ripe for the kind of uncontrollable, unnaturally hot fires that threaten communities and lives.</p>

Environmentalists may sue over forest firefighting practices (Grants Pass-AP) -- A Eugene environmental group says the U-S Forest Service isn't complying with laws on the use of fire retardant to fight wildfires. Andy Stahl, a spokesman for Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, says the group is prepared to file a lawsuit on the issue. The Forest Service uses 15 million gallons of fire retardant in an average year fighting wildfires. Stahl says some retardant falls into creeks and kills threatened and endangered fish, shellfish and crustaceans. And he claims the agency hasn't updated retardant-dropping guidelines in light of...

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15 9:00 P.M. ET - Dateline/Court TV exclusive -- ”The Christines” In the summer of 2000, Brian and Ruth Christine were on a trip across the country with their three daughters. During one of their stops, they found the police at the door of the bus they traveled in. An anonymous caller had notified the police, saying that one of the Christine’s three daughters looked dehydrated. Brian and Ruth were later arrested, accused of starving and neglecting their children. Mom and dad claim it’s simply their religious beliefs. But what will a judge and jury say?

The Bush administration's timber-cutting prescription for the West's wildfire epidemic runs counter to the record of the last half century, when large forest fires erupted on the heels of the heaviest logging ever conducted by the U.S. Forest Service.

REVIEW & OUTLOOK The Politics of FirePresident Bush took a break from cleaning up cedar trees on his Texas ranch yesterday to visit fire-wracked Oregon and announce a new plan to clean up forests everywhere else. You know that environmental politics have turned upside down when a Republican President can send the Sierra Club heading for the tall timber.Western fires were a hot story for a while, but the Eastern media seemed to lose interest after Colorado's Hayman fire in June. Westerners know, however, that the real fire season is just beginning. As Mr. Bush spoke, Oregon's Biscuit fire had...

Ok, so Bush proposes easing logging restrictions in "fire prone areas" and the next day 500 apoplectic protesters show up in Portland to denounce the plan. Of course, Portland doesn't seem to me to be fire prone in the sense that Colorado is. Maybe some of these protesters should come here to see what really dry conditions and lots of dead trees looks like. As reported by Fox News..... Many of the protesters criticized a new forest initiative announced earlier in the day by Bush that would make it easier for timber companies to cut wood from fire-prone national forests....

Firefighting Firsthand Interviews with Oregon's Firefighters By Bridget Barton August, 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oregon has seen its share of forest fires, but Oregon has given its share to fight fires, in dollars, in equipment, in labor, and in lives. As July came to a close and we are experiencing what may be our worst fire season in Oregon, every available heavy lift helicopter in the Columbia Helicopters fleet was at work fighting fires throughout the West. Columbia Helicopters, located in Aurora, Oregon, is the largest heavy lift utility helicopter operator in the world. Following are conversations with two men who know...

<p>O'BRIEN, Ore. (AP) --  Fire isn't the only thing threatening fragile forests this summer -- firefighting itself can threaten endangered plants, or spread plant diseases.</p> <p>The Lemmingsworth Gulch Research Natural Area would be a wonderful place to cut a fire line to block a huge blaze in southwestern Oregon -- it's wet and flat, without many trees. But when fire officials suggested doing that through the 818-acre site, Forest Service ecologist Tom Atzet urged them to look elsewhere.</p>

<p>A plan for salvaging burned trees calls for helicopter logging. By Stuart Leavenworth -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Wednesday, July 31, 2002 DUNCAN CANYON -- Deep inside this mountain canyon, a visitor is enveloped by three solitary sounds: The wind blowing through 300-year-old pines and cedars, water gurgling down a fern-lined creek, and the songs of dozens of birds.</p>

Memo to Li'l Tommy Daschle, "You're Busted." To: Li'l Tommy Daschle, Majority (for now) Leader of the Senate (and to other interested folks) From: J. Armor, Esq., AA to Congressman Billybob Re: You're Busted Dear Tommy (may I call you Tommy?), The last time I sent you a thoughtful memo, it had to do with your status as Majority Leader of the Senate. Turns out you were more right than I was on that one. You thought Senator Bob ("the Jersey Cur-Dog") Torricelli would escape indictment for bribery and hang on until a Democrat oiled his way back into the...

<p>The fallout from this year's forest fires is accomplishing wonders -- such as the sight of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle running into the protective arms of the Republican-controlled Forest Service. Quick, someone get water to revive the Sierra Club.</p>

<p>Republican lawmakers yesterday began capitalizing on unprecedented legislation by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle that exempts only his state from environmental rules and lawsuits in an effort to prevent forest fires.</p> <p>After initially criticizing Mr. Daschle for quietly adding the measure to a spending bill, Republicans are now praising the action and hoping to get similar exemptions in their wildfire-prone states.</p>

Trial was months ago---tape delay!

<p>PORTLAND — Wildfires in the high desert were threatening power lines that feed electricity to California and the Southwest, officials said Thursday.</p> <p>The Bonneville Power Administration operates one of the main “interties” between the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest — a string of high-voltage lines that typically carry electricity south in the summer when the cooler Northwest has a surplus of hydropower and air conditioners increase demand in the Southwest.</p>

Officials say large fires may merge By 7/19/02 10:34 AM PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Two of the largest wildfires in southern Oregon had nearly merged Friday as the total acreage burned since lightning strikes touched off blazes around the state last weekend reached 191,000 acres. The Tool Box Complex and the Winter Complex were being closely monitored as crews were trying to stop flames from crossing Oregon Highway 31 and heading east into the high desert. The Toolbox Fire had burned 44,300 acres by Thursday night near the town of Paisley north of Klamath Falls. The blaze had spread to...

More crews arriving as flames keep spreading By JOHN ENDERS, The Associated Press, 7/18/02 4:08 AM SISTERS, Ore. (AP) -- Firefighters from several states are on their way to Oregon. And just in time: there are plenty of fires here for them to fight. Ten Oregon crews that were fighting fires in other Western states will be returning home by the weekend. Joining them will be firefighters from Alaska, California, Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, fire officials said late Wednesday. And, on July 29, a battalion from an Army base in Kansas will be arriving in Oregon. Crews...

The junk scientists, for reasons which headshrinkers or the FBI might look into, have been doing a scam job on America's people and government, all damaging to the national welfare. Along with the envirocrats, the educrats and the propaganda end of the medical profession, they work night and day, aided and abetted by the liberal media, to shut down economic activity and return us to the spinning wheel. Their tools are junk ecology, phony studies, the power-trippers at the Environmental Protection Agency and a Rousseau-like preference for nature over humanity. Here are a few of the hundreds of documented examples....