In a recent article titled, “Front Range Forest Thinning May be Misguided,” researcher William Baker and Mark Williams of the University of Wyoming indicate that “current efforts to uniformly thin Front Range ponderosa forests and reduce fire intensity may be misguided and may not restore them. Instead, the aggressive management could take even farther from the natural historic range of variability with potential negative consequences for wildlife”.
This is an important addition to the research available regarding the management of our forests; however, the scientific community has already realized that the goals of forest management just for fuels reduction and wildfire protection was not ideal. Today, the discussions relating to forest management focus on the concept of restoration. Forest restoration seeks to protect forests by learning from the past, and managing forests for diversity of species, resiliency to disease and insects and fire.
To view the article in the Summit County Citizens voice Click Here.