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Time for responsible forest management
Steve Pearce
For New Mexico and other Western states, the cost of fires is too high
Fires of unprecedented size and severity continue to plague the west. For residents of New Mexico, this has already been a difficult and expensive summer, marked by evacuations, forest closures, and even loss of property and homes. This year, 876 individual fires have burnt a total of 652,800 acres in New Mexico alone.
On the state’s western border, the largest fire in Arizona history has now crossed into New Mexico, forcing evacuations and costing millions. Fires have burned in the Organ Mountains at the southern end of the state, temporarily forced the closure of the world-famous Carlsbad Caverns in eastern New Mexico, and have led to evacuations of Los Alamos National Labs to the north. Even where fires aren’t burning, forest use is restricted or completely closed.
The impacts on local communities are immense, as tourism and recreation are primary sources of income for the area. Tourism is likely to drop significantly in Lincoln County this summer if the forest remains closed, dramatically affecting local jobs and paychecks.
But unfortunately, the fires impact far more than tourism. New Mexico, already facing a drought, relies on watersheds to feed our rivers and streams, and aquifers. Many of the fires ravaging New Mexico are burning through mountains and watersheds that supply our drinking water and irrigation. Our state’s agricultural sector — vital to our local economy — relies on the health of these watersheds, as do our people. It seems that no one in New Mexico is left untouched by these fires.
Healthy management prevented by lawsuits
Last weekend, I spent time with constituents, local officials, and firefighters in Luna, which was recently evacuated due to fire. With lives and livelihoods on the line, it is important to ask the tough questions about how we got here. Healthy forest management has been prevented by a barrage of environmental lawsuits that advocate reckless policies and hamstring responsible and effective use of taxpayer dollars.
As a result, logging is banned, we lose thousands of jobs, and forests become heavily overgrown, creating ideal conditions for a quickly-spreading, uncontrollable fire. Thousands are left without work, and the forest becomes even more imperiled.
A recent article by Ted Williams, a self-proclaimed “environmental extremist,” said that groups like the Center for Biological Diversity and the WildEarth Guardians give “every environmentalist a bad name,” with their lawsuits and agendas that cripple forest management. He said that these have turned suing the government into an industry, and do so completely at the expense of wildlife.
I recently spoke with representatives of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, whose land borders the Lincoln National Forest. They tell me that the spotted owl is flourishing on the reservation because they have been responsible in cutting and thinning their forest over the years. The Mescalero Tribe’s success story should be implemented in the Lincoln National Forest.
Time for the government to change course
The failure of the Forest Service to manage one of our nation’s greatest resources is a disgrace. I have submitted a bill in Congress calling for the immediate return of logging to the area while protecting the spotted owl in sanctuaries. If action is not taken soon to change the course of our unhealthy forests around these local communities, our fate will almost certainly be the same as that of our friends west of here, where the Wallow Fire is devastating hundreds of thousands of acres.
Otero County in New Mexico has shown initiative and leadership in this matter. Otero County officials recently approved the creation of an “Emergency Forest Plan” to protect the safety and welfare of citizens in the county. The plan calls for the commencement of logging 10,000 to 20,000 acres of forest around Cloudcroft. This commonsense decision will lead to responsible forest management, reducing the threat of fire and bringing much-needed jobs to the area.
The Otero County Commission should be commended for its efforts, and other local governments should follow suit by refusing to tolerate reckless mismanagement of their lands.
Instead of fighting fires and watching our homes and resources go up in flames, imagine where we could be if the Forest Service would harvest our valuable timber, create jobs, and save our forests. Instead of policies that make economic sense and protect our forests, we continue to spend Forest Service revenues fighting fires created by decades of failed policies.
It is time for the government to change course — or we will continue to watch our forests burn and our jobs go overseas.
Pearce, a Republican, represents New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District in Congress.
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The Federal Election Commission’s latest Schedule B Itemized campaign disbursement reports that the controversial Koch Industries PAC kicked in $1,000 dollar donation for Pearce for Congress on May 24, 2011, the same day it kicked in a $5,000 dollar donation for Michelle Bachmann for Congress. If I were Steve I would file a sex-discrimination suit against the Koch Brothers for gender favoritism.
MJM – in your zeal to make a point you made a huge factual error. The Forest Service didn’t start Cerro Grande, the Park Service did. They also started the fire that was AZ’s biggest prior to the Wallow. They picked bad times when the conditions were horrible, and they should have know better (I too know a little something about fire and range and wildlife conservation). The Forest Service manages lots more acreage, is responsible for dealing with more forest fires, and generally does a much better job. MJM is right in that some private groups do a decent job, while others not so much. The answer is not so simple as giving the money to loggers and letting them do as they see fit (which historically before regulation and better practices on their own parts meant clear-cutting – which does ironically prevent forest fires when there is no forest left to burn). I personally don’t want to see my public land given to other interests for some paltry amount of money that would be used to fund someone elses special tax deal or entitlement program. There are other interests – recreation, grazing, minerals, environmental – that must be balanced in the interest of short and long term public interest. It’s called conservationism (look it up). It makes sense, which is why we don’t talk about it anymore as it’s appatenly not sexy or policially poiarizing enought. Pierce is just pandering, although there’s certainly room for improvement in forest and fire management practices. Opposite interests do the very same thing. Very annoying but another sympton of a failing two party system, not to mention our educational system which results in the de-evoluition of informed civil discource and public debate.
I read the opinion piece. Then I went back and read it several more times. The take away for me is that Congressman Pearce is becoming more and more of a “bumper sticker” representative every time he opens his mouth or has one of his staff write a piece like this one. Can Congressman Pearce please cite some data? Can he refer us to actual laws? Can he provide any tangible support for his claims? I don’t see anywhere in the piece where he refers to a specific law or anything that would bolster his claims. Anybody can write anything. It would be nice if he found a staff member with a minimal degree of journalistic experience and rewrote the article with at least a few data points or citations. Folks who read this blog, in particular, are a bit more used to seeing pretty substantial citations and references when the opposing sides of an argument present their cases. One would think the congressman could at least keep up.
Since Congressman Pearce is so much more knowledgeable than the Forest Service about firefighting, he should resign immediately and apply for one of the available Forest Service jobs. Here is a list:
http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9fs.asp
Since he is a pilot he can apply for a Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management job.
http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/people/employment/
Uncle Sam wants you – Steve Pearce. Apply now!
Congressman Pearce merely goes with the conservative flow, and voting along Republican lines to appease his support base. Nothing has come from the Congressman that has benefitted NM very much. Now, he tries to talk about forest management and, like Hemingway said, something he knows nothing about.
Before he was landsided by Senator Udall, pearce was a member of Congress why did he not introduce legislation regarding forest management. Now, he jumps on the bandwagon after the fact–the fact that the forest service has needed a common sense approach in the cleaning of dead trees, underbrush etc.. FOR DECADES in our forest. The biggest problem with pearce is that he is so political about his comments. He puts politicals ahead of solutions and the folks in the 2nd district fall for it everytime.
Hemingway who started the controlled burn west of Los Alamos that almost took out the town in the first place? Why it was the Forest Service of course. Who paid the bill on that one Hemingway? The tax payer of course. Unless you live in the area check your facts. I work in the area do you?
MJM is totally mistaken. The National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise Communities program teaches homeowners, community leaders, planners, developers, firefighters and others about ways to protect people and property from wildfires. This is a program sponsored by the Forest Service.
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2011/releases/05/prepare.shtml
We should take note that privately held forest lands are better maintained than those of the federal and state. Here is an great example. The Valle Grande on highway 4. It was purchased by the feds about 10 years ago and was supposed to be sself sustaining as part of their mission. That has never happened. Lots of folks workers up there at the Valle Grande. Lots of high powered board members. But it continues to cost us millions of dollars a year to keep the place running. It reminds me of the Rail Runner…. Granted the forest on the western half of the property was poorly managed in earlier years by the early owner., but the recent fire on the north and easter sections indicate to me that they are not well managed either. There are many properties held by paper companies and large endowments that put our pubic forests to shame. I do know this area as I live close by part time.
Nonsense
http://www.capitolreportnewmexico.com/?p=5203
I am sorry I should have included this just released Forest Service Report on Sustainable Forests
http://www.fs.fed.us/research/sustain/2010SustainabilityReport/documents/2010_SustainabilityReport.pdf
It is obvious Congressman Pearce has no knowledge of this comprehensive report. Over 30 Forest Service scientists, senior staff and outside collaborators contributed to this report. It was released July 7, 2011. Read this not Mr. Pearce’s irresponsible comments.
He COULD be trying to do something about trying to speed up the process for logging burnt areas, combined with a sensible re-seeding program. Retired US Forestry Service manager Lou Wolthering (sp?) has said something about the ‘city environmentalists’ (my term) filing suits that blocked the logging so long the burnt trees rotted and became worthless. That happened in California as I recall.
It was Congressman Pearce and his Republican cohorts in the House that pushed a $38 million cut in U.S. Forest Service funding. This cut simply reflect a political agenda, driven by an anti-environmental, pro-oil and coal ideology. This is Mr. Pearce’s hypocrisy at its worst! Then he has the nerve to criticize the Forest Service.
Congressman Pearce knows absolutely NOTHING about logging and fires.
Read this article on how logging would FAIL to prevent forest fires:
http://www.chattoogariver.org/Articles/2000SF/Fire.htm
This Congressman passes off ignorance as truth and misinformation as science. Congressman Pearce “is a disgrace.”