This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I just returned from a camping trip in the Zombie Forest, formerly known as Soapstone Basin in the High Uintah Mountains. I have always thought of the U.S. Forest Service as one of the federal agencies that do the public good, maintaining and improving our national heritage of forest land. Unfortunately, it appears a large percentage of our forest is waiting for a lightning event or accidental human-caused mistake that will cause Smokey Bear to lament, "Only you can prevent forest fires." By "you," I mean the U.S. Forest Service. Can these dead and dying trees be harvested selectively, as they are in other advanced countries, so the lumber can be used, jobs created and the carbon that is stored in the trees kept out of the atmosphere? I know there are those environmental folks who would rather it burn naturally, as it did in Yellowstone, because they don't want the heavy hand of humans interfering with nature, but come on. Can we not use our intelligence to improve our lives and the land around us?
Thomas Butterfield
Salt Lake City