Posts by Bekah Mamola
Los árboles muertos (troncos) no hacen que los bosques ardan con mayor intensidad
The Great Big Giant Sequoia Scam with Dr. Chad Hanson
Adam Bronstein interviews Dr. Chad Hanson about the unique ecological role of giant sequoias and the critical importance of high-intensity fires for their reproduction. Chad outlines the widespread misunderstanding among policymakers and the public about these majestic trees and forests, emphasizing that low-intensity fires do not provide the conditions needed for giant sequoia regeneration.
Read MoreForest Thinning Might Lead to More Wildfire Danger
ABC4
By MJ Jewkes
Researchers believe active wildfire management practices, like forest thinning, may do more harm than good. “Many of the things being done in forests will potentially make them more flammable, not less,” said David Lindenmayer, distinguished professor with the Australian National University. Lindenmayer says he, along with a team of researchers, including Dr. Chad Hanson and Dr. Dominick DellaSala, began studying active management strategies shortly after a number of wildfires tore across Australian forests in 2009.
Read MoreLey Forestal Engañosa: Tala Subvencionada y Retrocesos
Federal Administration Looks to Expand Logging in California’s National Forests
Spectrum News 1
By Jamie Kennedy
“Removing trees from forests reduces wind resistance,” Hanson said. “And that’s a really big factor. Reducing wind resistance means that the flames, the winds, can push the flames faster through the forest.” Hanson believes wildfire efforts should focus on hardening homes and defensible space, with prescribed and natural burns as the best forest strategy. “We actually want more fire in most areas and not just low intensity creeping surface fire,” Hanson said. “In most forest ecosystems, there is a natural component that is high-intensity fire.”
Read MoreThe Senate’s Deceptively-Named “Fix Our Forests Act”: Logging, Not Solutions
Protecting Public Lands from Logging is Good Fire Policy
Stop Clearcutting CA | Sonia Demiray and Jennifer Mamola
Keep It In the Forest – An Environmental Campaign to Combat Misinformation America’s forests are under siege. The Keep It In the Forest campaign is a grassroots education movement led by a coalition of NGOs and experts, which breaks down the science and economics behind why protecting forests, NOT cutting them down, is essential for…
Read MoreDon’t Mourn the Rim Fire – Learn from it
April 18, 2025
By Letters to the Editor, Jennifer Mamola
Los Angeles Times LTE
Far from being lifeless, the areas affected by the 2013 Rim fire now support a rich array of species, from woodpeckers to rare flowers. The Rim fire didn’t ruin Yosemite. It offered a lesson.
Read MoreTrump Logging Order Sparks Fears for US Southeast Forests
Context
By Carey L. Biron
The executive orders and implementation cite a focus on reducing wildfires and safeguarding at-risk communities. But wildfire scientist Chad Hanson, director of the nonprofit John Muir Project, said this viewpoint flies in the face of years of scientific findings. “Claiming that removing millions of trees somehow will curb wildfires and therefore communities don’t have to worry, that approach is unconscionably dangerous … based on the evidence we have,” he said. In fact, thinning has been found to dry out forests and allow winds to spread fires more easily, he said.
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