For an administration that espouses environmentalism it certainly has been extremely environmentally unfriendly when it comes to fuels and fire management. Proper forest and range management is now more necessary than ever considering that more people are now living adjacent to federal lands. The agencies practices, or lack thereof, for controlling fuel loads and fires has led to unprecedented stream pollution, soil erosion, air pollution, loss of habitat, and wholesale slaughter of wildlife including endangered species. The administration and federal land management agencies have ignored one of the most pragmatic, efficient and cost effective mechanisms for fuels and fire management. For instance, grazing cattle and sheep can be one of the most useful methods for controlling fuel loads.
Grazing can serve as a precision-like tool for managing fuel loads.
When coupled with controlled burns, grazing can reduce the occurrence and impact of catastrophic wildfires. Local input must also be enhanced. Those working near or on federal lands, such as cattlemen and woolgrowers, know the area, its geomorphology and history and can prove to be a valuable asset for implementing a fuel load and fire management strategy. The combination of controlled fires, proper forest and range management, enhanced local input, and more flexible environmental regulations is the only possible long term solution to fire control in the West. This type of management will lead to burned areas coming back more quickly, healthier and even more scenic.