This recommendation is not based on science, and will not help alleviate the problem. In New Mexico alone, if every tree under twelve inches in diameter were cut, the forest would still be overstocked. This figure is arbitrary and will not let land managers and local communities determine where to prioritize their work and will hamstring efforts to reduce fire danger and reintroduce important ecological processes like prescribed burns. We must let professionals on the ground make these determinations and use science and experience to get this job done. As a practical matter, mechanically treating stands will include commercial logging.
Some critics characterize logging as wholesale ecological destruction.
This is just not true. While the majority of these fire problems cannot be addressed through commercial logging, it is one tool available to managers, and it should be available. Much of the work will consist of pre-commercial activities like thinning. Additionally, much of the immediate fire problem we are facing is on shrub and grasslands that do not have much timber. We agree that innovative contracting mechanism such as Stewardship Contracting and other efforts that do not focus on merely offering timber volume for sale will be needed, and we believe you should direct the Forest Service to pursue these efforts vigorously including working with Congress where new authority may be necessary.