I live in California and totally agree. Today’s fires are burning so hot that they’re even killing giant sequoias that have survived hundreds or thousands of years. Beetles are destroying many other old growth trees in the Sierras and beyond (https://www.redding.com/story/news/2021/07/06/drought-bark-beetle-wildfire-risk-california-forests/7879061002). After fires, even smaller ones, non-native, fast growing invasive grasses take root in burned areas which makes them more susceptible to future fires. It’s awful.
Sorry for the delayed response! One key issue that seems to have eluded many government managers or green special interests is that forests will continue to age and die, even if you say they're "protected." Too many have bought into the notion that because you call something "old growth," it will exist unchanged for several centuries or even millennia.
While some tree species can survive for that long, many become overmature and decadent in far less time. Active forest management can consider the ecology of the tree species and remove some older trees to account for disease, pest infestations, etc. At the same time, it can remove (or manage the levels of) the fuel loading—smaller trees, shrubs, and grasses.
Until some forest managers and a LOT of greens can understand that putting a fence around a piece of forested land and calling it "protected" doesn't preserve it in perpetuity, we'll continue to see these areas decimated by disease, pests, and fire.
I live in California and totally agree. Today’s fires are burning so hot that they’re even killing giant sequoias that have survived hundreds or thousands of years. Beetles are destroying many other old growth trees in the Sierras and beyond (https://www.redding.com/story/news/2021/07/06/drought-bark-beetle-wildfire-risk-california-forests/7879061002). After fires, even smaller ones, non-native, fast growing invasive grasses take root in burned areas which makes them more susceptible to future fires. It’s awful.
Sorry for the delayed response! One key issue that seems to have eluded many government managers or green special interests is that forests will continue to age and die, even if you say they're "protected." Too many have bought into the notion that because you call something "old growth," it will exist unchanged for several centuries or even millennia.
While some tree species can survive for that long, many become overmature and decadent in far less time. Active forest management can consider the ecology of the tree species and remove some older trees to account for disease, pest infestations, etc. At the same time, it can remove (or manage the levels of) the fuel loading—smaller trees, shrubs, and grasses.
Until some forest managers and a LOT of greens can understand that putting a fence around a piece of forested land and calling it "protected" doesn't preserve it in perpetuity, we'll continue to see these areas decimated by disease, pests, and fire.
Good one.
Thanks, Al.