When smoke from the horrific Western fires clears, the inevitable
won’t be far behind—Washington, D.C. politicians scrambling to begin fixing
blame for blazes that swept through millions of acres of rich forests.
The pity is that this orgy of self-indulgence probably will generate more
heat than light, and result in pointing fingers in search of culprits.
Dealing with the vagaries of weather, forest growth patterns and
fire—not to mention the conflicting pressures of competing commercial and political
interests—is an inexact science and almost beyond human patience.
Common sense suggests that the management of America’s forests and
remote park lands is best left to men and women trained in sciences that attempt to
understand nature and all its complexities.
Politicians who’d like to get their hands on forest management
predictably are more concerned with traditional political interests and less about the
forests.
And politicians who insist on playing the blame game will find it’ll
backfire.
The record shows that Western congressmen, including those from Idaho,
have been hostile to the Department of the Interior and the Department of
Agriculture’s Forest Service, doing their best to create legislative and budgetary
obstacles to their programs.
Some critics of political interference also might well suggest that
meddling by members of Congress hobbled the ability to prevent and fight this
summer’s storm of fires.
As certain as the blame fixing is bound to begin soon, so, too, will the
presidential campaign be dragged into the fray where candidates will take sides.
One wonders what Mother Nature would say if she could choose sides and
testify.
