Environmentalists and the courts are still resisting calls for effective forest management — including efforts President Donald Trump has tried to implement — despite mass wildfires in western states.
Thirty five people are known dead from wildfires raging in California, Oregon, and Washington, with nearly 5 million acres charred and some 3,500 structures damaged or destroyed.
Trump spoke about the wildfires and preventing future devastation during a rally Sunday night in Henderson, Nevada.
“Tonight, we’re also praying for everyone throughout the West affected by the devastating wildfires,” Trump said. “We want forest management.”
“My administration is closely coordinating with the state and local leaders with the Governor and we thank the more than 28,000 firefighters and first responders courageously braving the danger and like, and I’m going there tomorrow,” Trump said.
“We have meetings with FEMA and all of the different people,” Trump said. “It’s crazy, it’s crazy what’s going on. Thousands and thousands and thousands of acres, it’s crazy.”
Breitbart News reported on efforts to thwart Trump, who has been working on the issue since his election:
The Trump administration has been working to prevent the deadly wildfires that have plagued the West by putting in place forest management practices, including thinning forests in Oregon to reduce fire fuel.
But environmental activists have taken the matter to court and found judges in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit who ruled the United States Forest Service put the plan in place “without assessing its environmental impact.”
At the RNC 2020 convention last month, Scott Dane, the executive director of the Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers of Minnesota, said Trump tried to prevent wildfires like the ones burning today, but environmental extremists backed by Barack Obama and Joe Biden fought the effort.
“Under Obama-Biden, radical environmentalists were allowed to kill the forests,” Dane said. “Wildfire after wildfire shows the consequences. Managed forests — the kind my people work in — are healthy forests.”
“Under President Trump, we’ve seen a new recognition of the value of forest management in reducing wildfires,” Dane said. “And we’ve seen new support for our way of life — where a strong back and a strong work ethic can build a strong middle class.”
“We want to build families where we’re raised and stand by communities that have stood by us,” Dane said. “We want that way of life available for the next generation, and we want our forests there too.”
Democrats blame climate change for the wildfires, including presidential candidate Biden, who is speaking about that today in Delaware.
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