Posts by Bekah Mamola
Protecting Public Lands from Logging is Good Fire Policy
Not For Sale: Why National Forests Deserve More Than PR Spin
It’s #NationalForestWeek, a time that, on paper, celebrates the beauty and importance of our national forests. But when the week is framed by the very institutions enabling industrial extraction on public lands, the celebration rings hollow. The National Forest Foundation, closely tied to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and industry interests, paints a glossy picture…
Read MoreGuest Blog: Carole King’s Support in JMP’s Mission
Carole King shows her support for ecological nonprofit, John Muir Project, in defending our public lands throughout the Western United States.
Read MoreMissing the Forest for the MOG: Why We Can’t Afford to Ignore Post-Fire Habitats
What Glossy Campaigns Miss: The Forest’s Future Depends on Defending Its Wild, Messy Beginnings In the growing movement to protect Mature and Old-Growth (MOG) forests, one truth keeps getting left out of the room: The MOG we’re scrambling to defend today began as post-fire habitat. Yes, there’s very little MOG left, and protecting what remains…
Read MoreIndustry’s Got the Mic – Take It Back
The deceptively-named ‘Fix Our Forests‘ Act (FOFA) is picking up speed on Capitol Hill, with little scrutiny and major consequences for our public lands. Your voice, through a simple letter to your local paper, can help expose what’s at stake and slow its momentum. Why Your Voice Matters Right Now The ‘Fix Our Forests‘ Act…
Read MoreChad Hanson, Q/A with Forest Talks & Forest Walks
Center for Responsible Forestry | Dr. Chad Hanson is invited to speak with a new kind of book club – where stories spark action, ideas grow into movements, and love for forests bring people together – that has just finished his book, “Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate”. He makes a powerful, evidence-based case for rethinking fire – seeing it not as a disaster, but as an essential part of forest health and climate resilience.
Read MoreTrump Wants to Let Chainsaws Loose in CA National Forests
San Francisco Chronicle
By Kurtis Alexander
Despite citing fire prevention, the Trump administration is calling for a 25% increase in logging in U.S. national forests.
But forest ecologists–and the data–tell a different story: “It [logging] tends to make them burn faster and hotter toward towns,” says Chad Hanson of the John Muir Project. Is this really about fire, or about profit?
Note: This article is behind a paywall
Read MoreThe 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.
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