Letter to the editor
Is FireSmart wise?
We will need more than clean yards and metal roofs to keep our valley safe from wildfires.
Could we not consider a forest service coordinated tabletop exercise that links areas of low fire rate spread to hard barriers such as rock bluffs, water bodies, roads, etc? Possibly give tax breaks for timber harvesting to private landowners and wood lot licenses including Crown forest lands?
There are fewer opportunities for gathering firewood and there are also smaller mills that could produce useful building materials as they once used to. I’m thinking of something similar to the old land use planning process that coordinated grazing, timber production, recreation, and wildlife management. Strikes me as a possibility to add ‘wise’ to the equation. Some of our local forest neighbours are already on this path.
DM Herman, Fairmont
