New Law

[etat]

 President Bush  on Wednesday signed into law a forest management plan he said would reduce the risk of wildfires in federal forests.

Won't this be a good thing?

Here's the url.  I don't know how to post a link.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=7&u=/nm/20031203/ts_nm/bush_forests_dc

[Ron Wenrich]

From my understanding, it is to effect some 20 million acres.  It eliminates some environmental assessments and allows more control at the local and regional levels of the Forest Service.

Is it a good law?  It depends on how it is used.  If they actually go out and get rid of the bug infested wood, then they are getting rid of some of the fire hazards.  If they go and cut down old growth forests, then I wouldn't think too much of it.  I think the majority of the foresters will do the first issue rather than the second.

There are pros and cons to every law and every issue.  The foresters I've associated with at the state and federal level are every bit the professional and aren't going to hand timber over to the lumber companies as the environmentalists would have us believe.  But, maybe a better bill could have been written.