NJ Pinelands Fire Plan

[red]

There is a news story titled . . Fire Plan Would Cut 2.4 Million New Jersey Pinelands Trees 

[Magicman]

I think this is it:  Fire plan would cut 2.4 million New Jersey Pinelands trees - ABC News

[Clark]

It shouldn't surprise us, with a title like that, that many of the people interviewed are against the thinning. I think they could have done a better job of branding the effort as a restoration project and not a fire plan.

One person claims to have studied thinning in western forests and said it had very little affect on fire severity. That certainly isn't what I've seen. Or the many studies have shown.

While I agree that the public needs to be involved they also need to be educated about the issues and given the opportunity to give input but not make the final decision.

Clark

[bigblockyeti]

^ I don't think there's too much danger of NJ embracing the public's decisions about public property.

[Southside]

I have been there, absolutely a fire danger, worse than out west when it comes to the potential for death and destruction given the number of people around and the road access, there is an amazing amount of fuel on the floor, very sandy soil that does not hold moisture well, and basically zero green material below the canopy.  What I find funny is earlier this year we were talking about the carbon credit program that some here have taken advantage of.  That program does not consider mature pine timber to be the best opportunity to capture carbon, their model is more of a forest in mid stage regeneration which will sequester the most carbon the quickest.  In the article some of the opposition to the harvest is this will be carbon negative when "the science" says the opposite.    

Where are they going to find folks to run all the thinning saws is the real question.  

[Clark]

^ I don't think there's too much danger of NJ embracing the public's decisions about public property.

Touché!

[Rhodemont]

I have ridden many endurance rides (horses) in the Wharton State Forest out of Shamong. Some of these require we ride into the night ..it can be pretty creepy at 10pm in the Pine Barrens.  Couple years ago just after starting out around sunrise we encountered the Forest crew setting up a burn in an area we had to ride through a couple times.  Later in the day we could smell the smoke as we approached the area and then came upon acres that had already been burned of all the low brush and a fire-line moving along at a good rate.  Needles to say the horses did not like that at all.  The forest crew had no notice there was a permitted ride that day.  Right Hand vs Left hand coordination!.

[beenthere]

Might be that smoke smell is part of the endurance training for the horses? and the riders?