Log it, Graze it, or Watch it Burn. By Zito for Idaho, Christy Zito (10/02/24)
Christy Zito writes:
We are witnessing a rapid increase in fires that devastate our beautiful state, and this year is no exception.
In Legislative District 8, for example, a significant portion of our land, hundreds of thousands of acres, has been needlessly consumed by fire.
The sky is filled with ash and smoke, habitats for thousands of species have been destroyed, and countless animals have been killed or injured. The situation is urgent, and we must act now.
Zito lists six recent and devastating US Forest Service incident-managed fires in her district alone (Wapiti, Lava, Nellie, Snag, Goat, Bulldog), along with the acreage burned.
ED NOTE
The totals for firefighting and land rehab costs and burned acreage continue to climb. Only when the snow flies, later in October, can the fires be fully extinguished.
In late September, the costs were estimated at $50M just for the Middle Fork Complex. (Fun Fact: Tree fellers earn upwards of $300 per hour for their efforts.)As fires on federally controlled land in Idaho become mega fires and occur more often, Zito asks “who is to blame?” Some answers:
From 1996 to 2003, sawmills were closed all across Idaho.
For decades, federal regulations and bureaucracy have vilified the logging and grazing.
Federal agencies working with NGOs have been buying out or forcing ranchers to give up their grazing permits.
Water rights are pulled, and federal bureaucratic agencies use lawfare to push all kinds of grazers off the land. (Grazing permits are property purchased and paid for by the permit holders.)
Some solutions:
Increase logging and grazing to reduce forest 'fuel' and mitigate the risk of catastrophic fires.
Switch to local control of public land: The best stewardship is always closest to the land and the people. (The fate of our land should not rest with distant bureaucrats who may not fully understand our unique industry and environment.)
Expand Idaho’s Good Neighbor Authority (GNA), which allows the Idaho Department of Lands to complete forest restoration projects on federally "managed" lands and send them the bill.
Related Information:
Public Lands & Land Grabs
The Public Land Question Continues. By Heather Scott (09/29/24) and Financial Rebellion: The Land Grab: Weaponizing Nature (09/19/24, video 01:00:46 includes transcript): Substack note: substack.com/@bige47/no…
InciWeb
InciWeb is an interagency all-risk incident information management system that provides the public a single source of incident related information along with a standardized reporting tool for the Public Affairs community.
Middlefork Complex Fire (Bulldog and Nellie): inciweb.wildfire.gov/in…
Middlefork Complex Fire Resource (unofficial links and tips to help area homeowners, but many apply generally):
