The problem is we lack the will to act. New Mexico's Republican members of the House, Joe Skeen and Heather Wilson, said federal land managers have leaned too heavily on prescribed burns to maintain forest health. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., agreed, but he cautioned that the focus of tree thinning should be on small, dead and dying trees. Forestry scientists Wallace Covington of Northern Arizona University and Tom Swetnam of the University of Arizona agreed with Udall. The comments at Monday's hearing reflected a change in attitudes about forest management in the West.
Environmental groups have long opposed commercial logging.
But at a news conference before the hearing, the Sierra Club and other groups endorsed limited thinning on national forests. But disagreement remains about whether large trees should be cut or whether logging should be limited to smaller trees, such as those less than 12 inches in diameter. Chenoweth-Hage, state forester Toby Martinez and Cloudcroft village administrator Mike Nivison said there are times when larger trees should be cut. The hearing came during the worst wildfire season in decades. More than 66,000 wildfires have burned 4.8 million acres in the United States this year.