US Forest Fires

Aside from sparse TV coverage of annual US Forest Fires, the media avoids exposing the big picture. The Liberal media wants to promote excessive environmental policies and these contribute to the annual US forest fire problem. The endangered species act killed the spotted owl. The “Wilding Project” needs to be eradicated. All of this needs to be replaced with private ownership and effective forest maintenance.

You have to go to the National Interagency Fire Center website to get the big picture. It shows that the 2018 forest fires as of 12/13/18 are approaching 8.6 million acres of damage. It also shows similar damage in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017. https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm

For acres lost to forest fires by year see chart below:

2018 - 8,554,368 acres

2017 – 9,423,804 acres

2016 – 5,319,641 acres

2015 -  9,801,901 acres

2014 – 3,567,419 acres

2013 – 4,258,227 acres

2012 – 9,177,925 acres

2011 – 8,518,624 acres

2010 – 3,354,261 acres

2009 – 5,762,298 acres

2008 – 5,262,298 acres

10 year average 2008 – 2017 is 6,444,615 acres per year.

https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm

Most of these fires are caused by lightning strikes and spread on federal and state lands under dry and windy conditions.  Most of the damage is done because the land is not maintained at all by the government entities responsible for its maintenance.  Forests are not harvested, brush is not cleaned away and fire breaks are not constructed. Every year they just wait for the next annual forest fires to begin again.

https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm

1 square miles equals 640 acres, so 9 million acres equals 140,625 square miles. This is an area about the size of the entire land mass of Montana, our 4^th largest State after Alaska, Texas and California.

Fifty-six percent of the 751 million acres of forest land in the United States is privately owned. Of this private forest land, 62 percent is owned by families and individuals in what we call “family forests.”

In the western United States, large blocks of forest are publicly owned and overseen by the federal government. Maine is unique in that the public owns just 6% of forest in the state. The other 94% (16.7 million acres) is in private hands. The public owns roughly 6% (1,000,000 acres) of Maine forestland.

The total 751 million acres of forest land in the US converts to 11,734,375 square miles. The 56% share of privately owned forest land converts to 6,571,250 square miles. These forests are maintained by private owners.

More than half the forest land in the United States (423 million acres)—mostly located in the East—is owned and managed by some 11 million private forest owners. Of those private forest owners, 92 percent (10 million owners) are classified as “family forest” owners.

May 8, 2008 - In the scenario, the stand of mixed hardwoods has 6,000 board feet (6 MBF) per acre. The average stumpage price is $300/MBF, or $1,800 per acre total value.

Some forest land is for sale at around $300 per acre, so a 100 acre forest would cost $30,000. But 100 acres of Oak will cost more than 100 acres of Pine.

Government owned forests in the West needs to be privatized and sold to “family forest” owners.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader