US rethinks forestry plans

A raging inferno consumed more than 160,000 acres of national forest north of Los Angeles earlier this month, causing extensive property damage and killing two firefighters before it was eventually snuffed. Fighting these so-called megafires that burn on public lands is the purview of the National Forest Service, and on August 14 th , Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the forest service, laid out in general terms what the Obama administration has planned for the management of the forests on which these fires feed. Conveying the attitude of the new administration, Vilsack remarked, " President Obama has made clear his interest in conserving our natural environment, and I intend to take that responsibility very seriously and devote the time necessary to do it right. " As the California wildfires demonstrate, the task of fighting megafires, which have become larger, more intense, and more frequent in recent years, is an onerous one that requires enormous resources, both financial and human. In fact, more than half of the US Forest Service budget News focus has been diverted to fighting fires in recent years, putting considerable strain on efforts to realize the other goals of the service — sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of the national forests. This problem is partly the forest services' own doing, as it is generally acknowledged that over-zealous fire-dousing in the last century allowed the accumulation of fuel that now feeds the enormous wildfires ravaging the West. But it is also apparent that climate change plays an important, if less understood, role in the increasing incidence of wildfires and other factors that threaten forests, such as invasive plants and pests. Whatever the cause, the secretary expressed an urgent Cyrus Martin looks at proposals to buttress the United States' National Forest Service in the wake of fires and other challenges US rethinks forestry plans Lost: The US has lost many hectares of forest to fires around Los Angeles.