The Wildfire Solution That Makes Wildfires Worse

The Roadless Rule, enacted by President Clinton in 2001 is on the chopping block. The Roadless Rule protects millions of acres of roadless wilderness areas in our national forests.

And the Fix Our Forests Act is sailing through Congress with bipartisan support, on the pretense that our forests are “out of whack” and need endless logging to tame the fires.

It doesn’t work, but it makes for a good story.

The same President and Congress who pretend to care about wildfires are rescinding the Roadless Rule and enacting the Fix Our Forests Act, both of which will result in massive “fuel reduction,” i.e., logging, which makes wildfires worse by drying out our forests.

Drought is a major multiplier of wildfires. We don’t suppress wildfires by causing more drought. But this is exactly what the Fix Our Forests Act will do, and also will be the effect of rescinding the Roadless Rule.

To discuss this further, please join me for a free webinar next Friday:

Saving Our Forests from the Wildfire Industrial Complex, Friday, August 28 @ 3:00-4:30 Eastern Time (via Zoom)
https://harthagan.kit.com/cf98ecbe19

Also note the upcoming course:

Wildfires Mythology vs. Reality – Fall 2026 - Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
https://bio4climate.org/course-offerings/wildfires-fact-fiction-fall-2026/

The purpose of this course is to shine light in a dark place, the world where industry wants access to our public forests, and they are willing to tell tall tales, for the privilege of logging our forest ecosystems.

One of the tall tales is that our forests are overstocked and therefore need to be “thinned,” to protect us from wildfire.

It seems to make logical sense, but is not consistent with the best available science.

The best available science tells us that an undisturbed forest holds more moisture, creates a cool, moist microclimate and slows the pace of a wildfire. Does increased forest protection correspond to higher fire severity in frequent‐fire forests of the western United States? - Bradley - 2016 - Ecosphere - Wiley Online Library

The good news is that we can stand against propaganda by understanding how our forest ecosystems work.

Let’s think about it together!

Webinar next Friday:

Saving Our Forests from the Wildfire Industrial Complex, Friday, August 28 @ 3:00-4:30 Eastern Time (via Zoom)
https://harthagan.kit.com/cf98ecbe19

Course, starting in September:

Wildfires Mythology vs. Reality – Fall 2026 - Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
https://bio4climate.org/course-offerings/wildfires-fact-fiction-fall-2026/

The course features North America’s most distinguished experts in wildfire ecology and rational, effective methods for keeping people safe from wildfire.