Staff Articles
Articles, Opinion Editorials (Op-Eds) and Letter's to the Editor about forest related issues authored by John Muir Project Staff and our allies.
Colorado lawmakers had a chance to protect homes from wildfires, but turned it down
April 9, 2026
By Nicholas Scritchfield
The Colorado Sun
Last month, Colorado lawmakers were handed a simple, science-backed opportunity: shift a fraction of wildfire funding toward the one strategy most consistently shown to protect homes—home hardening and defensible space grants. However, they said no to House Bill 1310, what was also known as the Wildfire Resiliency Grant Money bill.
My Turn – What you’re not being told about forest ‘thinning’
March 12, 2026
By Chad Hanson
Methow Valley News
Recently, a guest column in the Methow Valley News by Susan Prichard, a well-known promoter of logging on our national forests, took aim at me in the course of attempting to advocate for a series of large logging projects being proposed and implemented right now on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (“Setting the record straight about forest restoration,” Nov. 13, 2025).
Here’s how we can stop LA firestorms from happening again
January 13, 2026
By Chad Hanson
Cal Matters
Even after the profound losses of homes and lives in the Eaton and Palisades fires, Congress’ response so far has been the so-called “Fix Our Forests Act,” proposed legislation currently in the Senate that would override environmental laws to expedite taxpayer-subsidized, backcountry logging of mature trees and clearcutting on public lands — in the name of wildfire management.
Congressional ‘Fix Our Forests Act’ would worsen wildfire threat in California
December 26, 2025
By Chad Hanson
East Bay Times
Heedless of the facts and impervious to evidence, however, the full Senate may vote on a similar version of the Fix Our Forests Act (S. 1462) early next year. Logging industry contributors to congressional reelection campaigns would benefit; everyone else would lose. In fact, if the Senate passes the Fix Our Forests Act, it would increase the threat of wildfires to communities, putting homes and lives in greater danger.
Letter: What’s happening in Jefferson County Open Space should alarm anyone who cares about public lands and public trust in Colorado
September 10
By Bekah Mamola-Hill
Longmont Leader
“If we let agencies and industry partners co-opt the language of resilience while advancing projects that industrialize, fragment, and degrade these landscapes, we lose more than trees. We lose the integrity of public lands and the meaning of conservation itself.”
‘Fix Our Forests Act’ Misrepresents Wildfire Solutions
September 4, 2025
By Jennifer Mamola
VTDigger
Vermonters deserve solutions grounded in science, not legislation that industrializes forests. The “Fix Our Forests Act” diverts resources, weakens protections and undermines ecosystem resilience. Protecting Vermonters means strengthening communities and homes while letting forests function naturally, supporting both ecosystem and climate resilience.
Water and Wildfire: Don’t Let Logging Myths Undermine Real Solutions
August 22, 2025
By Jennifer Mamola
CounterPunch
There is no trade-off between protecting water systems and protecting forests. Wildfire disasters are caused by human infrastructure, vulnerability, and poor planning — not by intact, fire-adapted ecosystems. The focus must be on community-centered planning and resilient infrastructure, not industrial logging in upstream forests.
Senator Padilla’s Logging Bill Would Increase Wildfire Threats to Communities
By Chad Hanson
Moonshine Ink Op-Ed
In recent years, we have seen one community after another devastated by wildfires in California — some of them in forests, some in grassland and chaparral areas — in Paradise in the 2018 Camp fire, Greenville in the 2021 Dixie Fire, and Altadena and Pacific Palisades in the January 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles, among many other tragic examples. Politicians want to take action or at least be seen as doing something that will help. But in this climate of fear and uncertainty and mourning, some politicians are proposing dangerous and highly misleading legislation that would make things worse.
Don’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.