Angie Craig: “I thank Senator Kyl for what I think is a very clear explanation of what happens when you have this massive fuel-loading…”

“I thank Senator Kyl for what I think is a very clear explanation of what happens when you have this massive fuel-loading that has occurred on the floors of our public land forests in the Nation. When he talks about active management, he is not talking about wilderness areas. He is not talking about wildlife preserves. He is talking about the millions and millions of acres of land that we call multiple-use lands or lands that are classified within this roadless area that this administration is currently examining and is considering keeping roadless and undisturbed. The question becomes very clear. Can you do this kind of active management by righting the wrongs of past actions we have taken on our public lands to restore forest health and to allow fire then to be a participant in the ecosystem in a way that is not catastrophic or stand altering or wildlife destroying? Those are very real changes with which all of us have to grapple. We ought to start. I will start with hearings in the next few days that will deal with that. Some of our environmental friends recognize this. One of them happens to be from New Mexico. The Forest Guardian Group is quoted as saying that wildfires are getting bigger, burning hotter, and the effects are more devastating. It is clear that we will have to take mechanical steps to thin forests before we can use fire to restore these forests to their natural regimes.”