[fullmetal]

Something that got lost in the discussion earlier was that logging companies need roads to get their equipment in and out, lest they're forced to use helicopters and render the whole operation economically infeasible (or in need of subsidy...is that politically viable?).  Those roads are generally pretty wide and can affect the landscape poorly if not planned properly (accounting for erosion, impact on hydrology, etc).

In the Boy Scouts, we were taught the difference between conservation and preservation.  It seems these forests have been "preserved" too well.

Edit:
So I read an article that detailed some of the reasons why prescribed burns haven't been conducted much over the last two years.

“We haven’t done a large burn in Big Basin in the last three years because the weather hasn’t lined up,” Halbert says in the podcast. She brings up other bottlenecks to prescribed burns including permitting issues, staffing, and a short — or nonexistent — window for favorable weather conditions.

Big Basin burns can only happen in the fall. The fuel, composed of vegetation and plant material that burns easily, can’t be too wet or too dry. There must be some rain, but not too much. Winds must be blowing away from populated areas. If the winter rains come, the opportunity is gone.

Strict guidelines established by the Clean Air Act and enforced by air-quality districts can also prevent burns. “It’s a great thing to protect public health, but it makes it challenging for us to actually implement prescribed fires,” Halbert says.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/T...514626.php

There's a linked Nature article in there written by three Stanford scholars and two UMiami scholars:
Barriers and enablers for prescribed burns for wildfire management in California
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0451-7

[fullmetal]

Something that got lost in the discussion earlier was that logging companies need roads to get their equipment in and out, lest they're forced to use helicopters and render the whole operation economically infeasible (or in need of subsidy...is that politically viable?).  Those roads are generally pretty wide and can affect the landscape poorly if not planned properly (accounting for erosion, impact on hydrology, etc).

In the Boy Scouts, we were taught the difference between conservation and preservation.  It seems these forests have been "preserved" too well.

Edit:
So I read an article that detailed some of the reasons why prescribed burns haven't been conducted much over the last two years.

“We haven’t done a large burn in Big Basin in the last three years because the weather hasn’t lined up,” Halbert says in the podcast. She brings up other bottlenecks to prescribed burns including permitting issues, staffing, and a short — or nonexistent — window for favorable weather conditions.

Big Basin burns can only happen in the fall. The fuel, composed of vegetation and plant material that burns easily, can’t be too wet or too dry. There must be some rain, but not too much. Winds must be blowing away from populated areas. If the winter rains come, the opportunity is gone.

Strict guidelines established by the Clean Air Act and enforced by air-quality districts can also prevent burns. “It’s a great thing to protect public health, but it makes it challenging for us to actually implement prescribed fires,” Halbert says.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/T...514626.php

There's a linked Nature article in there written by three Stanford scholars and two UMiami scholars:
Barriers and enablers for prescribed burns for wildfire management in California
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0451-7