53 



Plate 12. Or, we can thin out the small trees that encroached during 

 the period of fire exclusion and leave the large diameter, fire resistant 

 trees. 



Plate 13. I think the best results are obtained when harvest is 

 followed by Rx fire. What is achieved is a fire resistant and resilient 

 forest that can be maintained with Rx fire by burning the forest every 

 15 years or so. This virtual scenario is an example of managing for an 

 historic ponderosa pine / Douglas-fir forest. 



In the real ponderosa pine / Douglas-fir forest, many options exist to 

 manage for fire resistance and resilience. In my opinion none of 

 these options include a continued policy of fire exclusion. 



You and your constituents must choose which forest you want. But, 

 make no mistake, wildfire cannot be excluded forever, and attempts 

 to do so have enormous economic and ecological consequences. 



Plate 14. We are facing and will continue to face the deleterious 

 consequences of fire exclusion. In my opinion, wildfires will get 

 larger, become more intense, and more dangerous. These fires will 

 continue to cost more to suppress and have more damaging effects 

 on natural resources until we address the underlying problem of fire 

 exclusion, or until there is nothing left to burn. 



