Saturday, May 13, 2017

Federal Land Fires

St. George GA, by the Georgia - Florida border is on fire.

The AJC reports: Some 725 firefighters are battling the blaze near the Okefenokee swamp. It is just 12 percent contained and could burn for months. 

The fire has already spread well beyond the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, said refuge manager Michael Lusk. He said about 40 percent of the 143,893 scorched acres stand outside the refuge.

I wonder why we can’t control these large fires that occur every year. They all seem to begin on federal land that is being “warehoused” as a “wildlife preserve” or “national park”.  The causes vary from arson to lightning strikes and failure to clear underbrush is usually the reason these fires spread out of control. 

It sounds to me that the federal government has bitten off more than it can chew again.  This land would be in better hands if it had an active “owner”. I never see cases where actual land owners let their acreage burn down.  They set up fire-brakes and clear brush and harvest trees and actually “manage” the land.

The “wildlife” will take care of itself and States could operate all the parks it can afford to operate. The rest should be sold to private owners and companies that grow trees and harvest them.  They are the only ones with the incentive to prevent letting their land burn out of control.

The federal government should never have violated the Constitution to grab 30% of the US landmass.


Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

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