Has this guy ever been in a biology class?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Tom Dunlap

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Jun 17, 2001
Messages
3,227
Reaction score
43
Location
Austin...but I'm 'from' Minnesota
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/134526256_interior31.html

Saturday, August 31, 2002, 12:00 a.m. Pacific

New wildfire plan watchdog has unorthodox views

By Faith Bremner
Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON — The man chosen to head the Bush administration's wildfire
prevention program doubts the existence of ecosystems and says it would not be a
crisis if the nation's threatened and endangered species became extinct.

Allan Fitzsimmons was named yesterday to be in charge of reducing fire danger on lands managed by the Interior
Department. But Fitzsimmons' background as a free-market policy analyst and his writings for libertarian and
conservative think tanks have alarmed environmental groups across the West. The groups say Fitzsimmons'
appointment confirms their fears that the recently announced program the administration calls the Healthy Forests
Initiative is a smokescreen for a return to unfettered logging. "How can a man who doesn't understand ecological
systems and community values for wildlife run a program that's supposed to protect forests and communities?"
asked John McCarthy, spokesman for the Idaho Conservation League. "People won't have confidence in this guy.
He'll be divisive, it will all be based on junk science."

For the past 10 years, he has operated his consulting firm, Balanced Resource Solutions in Woodbridge, Va.
Between 1983 and 1992, he held a series of policy-setting jobs in the Interior and Energy departments. He holds
a doctorate in geography.

He said his goal in forest policy is not to tilt toward either heavy logging or excessive protections.

"The intent is to get that pendulum as close to the center as you can," he told The Oregonian. "It's not devious. It's
certainly not a cynical attempt to turn chain saws loose from sea to shining sea with smoke from forest fires as a
cover," as some environmentalists charge.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is expected to introduce legislation next week that would carry out at least some of
President Bush's forest-management ideas. Bush wants to have logging companies thin the forests in exchange for
the right to harvest larger, commercially valuable trees.

His plan would suspend environmental rules and make it harder for the public to sue to stop thinning work from
going forward. Environmentalists support thinning forests around homes and communities, but only if loggers keep
their saws away from the large trees.

In "The Illusion of Ecosystem Management," published in 1999 by the Political Economy Research Center, which
says it applies market principles to environmental problems, Fitzsimmons says ecosystems exist only in the human
imagination and cannot be delineated. Federal policies, therefore, should not be used to try to manage or restore
them, he wrote.

In another paper, entitled "Ecological Confusion among the Clergy," Fitzsimmons criticizes religious leaders who
encourage their parishioners to worship God by protecting the environment. He singled out Catholic bishops who
issued their own paper in 1997 in support of protecting and restoring the Columbia River watershed. The paper
was published in 2000 by the Center for Economic Personalism, which advocates limited government and
promotes religion and "economic liberty."

"By urging the public to make changes in their lives to accommodate nonexistent ecosystem needs, one wonders if
the bishops are beginning inadvertently to make an idol out of their own creation, what they call the Columbia
Basin ecosystem," he writes.

He added that the biodiversity crisis religious leaders often point to is not a crisis at all. There are between
250,000 and 750,000 species in the United States and 1,201 are on the Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered
and threatened list.

"If each of these species were to become extinct tomorrow, our total biological endowment would decline by less
than 1 percent, which would be a disconcerting loss but would not constitute a crisis," Fitzsimmons writes.
"Conversely, at least 4,500 non-indigenous species have established free-living populations in the United States
over the past few hundred years, so that on balance, this part of the world has seen an increase in biological
diversity."

Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of the Western Fire Ecology Center, said many of those non-indigenous
species — like cheatgrass — are taking over native landscapes with devastating results. Cheatgrass is highly
flammable, has little nutritional value for livestock and chokes out native plants.

"Making the argument that non-native species are increasing the biological diversity is pure bunk."

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.
 
open mouth, insert foot, definitley some curious notions this guy has. Kind of reminds me of reagan's secretary of the interior , James Watt, (if I remember back that far correctly) another scary individual. Didn't he want to strip mine the country?

Maybe a strategic move by George W.? The old "I am trying to do something about it but I'm blocked at every turn by the oppostion" ploy? Putting an idiot in charge will succed at that. The timber companies will put $$ in his coffers and the tree huggers will go apesh*t, alas an impass. Ole george is happy and nothing actually gets done. mission accomplished.
 
Good list, as far as it goes, John.

Now here's a bucket of gasoline to throw on the fire...

What about adding European emmigration that started in the 1500's? We've seem to "naturalized" too.

Tom
 
I'm glad they're not bowing down to the greenbeans. They've been closing down natural areas left and right to everyone except people on foot. If they had it their way you wouldn't even be able to walk on native grasses or weeds.
I trail ride my dirtbike and hope to check out other parts of the country. National parklands were being shutdown to bikes, atvs , suv's etc. and now they're opening up again. At least for that, way to go GWB.
 
"naturalized"

Right Tom, and look at successful we were in forever altering the ecosystem. ;) Talk about a foreign species.
 
I'm not sure how biased the article is in terms of providing context for the statements. In the man's defense. The green weinies/eco-terrorrists have played an awful lot of games with "facts". Many of our "endangered" species are not endangered at all. They are "threatened" or "endangered" in an"ecosystem" (say 1 particular river drainage) while thriving throughout the rest of their native range (maybe even expanding it!). Others of the endangered species are declining within their extremely limited natural range because they were not well adapted to it in the first place. Some of the "endangered" species aren't even a species at all! For instance: The "Endangered" Mount Graham Red Squirrel. It is endangered for the very logical reason that it lives in the forest on top of a single Mountain which is surrounded by desert. Obviously a major fire could completely eliminate its habitat! What is so unique about the Mount Graham Red Squirrel? Beats me! It looks like any other Red Squirrel! Biologists can identify it by a differring number of eyelashes or something. If Mount Graham's forest were to be destroyed it WOULD be very sad but given time it would probably be reforested. Given some more time a breeding pair of red squirrels would probably make it across the desert and take up residence. Within the closed gene pool some identifying characteristic might arise. I don't want to see any species become extinct (Well maybe mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers if it didn't throw the food chain into chaos) but peoples lives have been destroyed to "save " a non viable species which is declining because some other creature fills its niche better. A little sanity and reason would be a welcome change-hope this guy has it.
 
good point stumper, i like your thinking! remember what they green industry tryed a few months ago with candian lynx??? don't think for a minute that they won't BEND and STRECHHHHH the true to further their cause!! i live in north carolina and get a good portion of my winter income from trapping, these people tried to tell us that the beaver is indangered in Nc. in 2000 i took 450 of them in 5 weeks just trapping them when it was convenant (the average beaver down here weighs 50lbs!). my point is that you really can't trust what they say.
 
E-mail from Earth Liberation Front

From: anonimo arancio <[email protected]>
Date: 2 Sep 2002 01:57:53 -0000
To: [email protected]
Subject: E.L.F. attacks U.S. Forest Service research facility

The Earth Liberation Front is claiming responsibility for the
8/11/02 arson attack on the United States Forest Service Northeast
Research Station in Irvine, Pennsylvania.

The laboratory was set ablaze during the early morning hours, causing
over $700,000 damage, and destroying part of 70 years worth of
research. This lesson in "prescribed fire" was a natural, necessary
response to the threats posed to life in the Allegheny Forest by
proposed timber sales, oil drilling, and greed driven manipulation of
Nature.

This facility was strategically targeted, and if rebuilt, will be
targeted again for complete destruction. Furthermore, all other U.S.
Forest Service administration and research facilities, as well as all
DCNR buildings nationwide should now be considered likely targets.

These agencies continue to ignore and mislead the public, at the
bidding of their corporate masters, leaving us with no alternative to
underground direct action. Their blatant disregard for the sanctity
of life and it's perfect Natural balance, indifference to strong public
opposition, and the irrevocable acts of extreme violence they
perpetrate against the Earth daily are all inexcusable, and will not be
tolerated.
If they persist in their crimes against life, they will be met with
maximum retaliation.

In pursuance of justice, freedom, and equal consideration for all
innocent life across the board, segments of this global revolutionary
movement are no longer limiting their revolutionary potential by
adhering to a flawed, inconsistant "non-violent" ideology. While
innocent life will never be harmed in any action we undertake, where
it is necessary, we will no longer hesitate to pick up the gun to implement
justice, and provide the needed protection for our planet that decades of
legal battles, pleading, protest, and economic sabotage have failed so
drastically to achieve.

The diverse efforts of this revolutionary force cannot be contained, and
will only continue to intensify as we are brought face to face with the
oppressor in inevitable, violent confrontation. We will stand up and fight
for our lives against this iniquitous civilization until it's reign of
TERROR is forced to an end - by any means necessary.

In defense of ALL life,

-Pacific E.L.F.
 
My, they have an interesting concept about innocent life! IF you accept that they were attacking the "guilty"(I do not), One has to wonder about their rescue effort that saved ALL the innocent spiders in the building from the fire. What about the innocent mildew? and the innocent bacteria? and the innocent plants that were scorched by proximity to the blaze? etc. etc. If a person heads down this path of considering all life of equal value they CANNOT be consistent-it would drve them insane if they were not already!
 
Ryan, Thanks . You make a good point to. One minor correction though- We are part of the green industry the green wienies are the green Lobby . They hardly qualify as being industrious. All they produce are noise, headaches, and indigestion.;)
 
Re: E-mail from Earth Liberation Front

Originally posted by Nickrosis
From: anonimo arancio <[email protected]>
Date: 2 Sep 2002 01:57:53 -0000
To: [email protected]
Subject: E.L.F. attacks U.S. Forest Service research facility

The Earth Liberation Front is claiming responsibility for the
8/11/02 arson attack on the United States Forest Service Northeast
Research Station in Irvine, Pennsylvania.


Looks like you've got your share of the "ecowarrior" lunatic fringe, like us. We have the animal liberation front, who used to raid mink farms to liberate the captives within, thus releasing a non native and highly aggressive predator onto the local indigenous wildlife that are not really equipped to stand up to it. A lot of these people are just middle class kids who, once they've got bored playing Che Quevara, will cut their hair, put on a suit and pull down some high paying job in a fashionable suburb of North London, then spend the rest of their lives discussing fine wine and interior design.

My problem with these people is that the public and press only see these people when something important needs to be said, for example about unnecessary roadbuilding through scarce and precious ancient woodland sites. They do more damage to the environmental cause than anything else. And if that sounds like the words of a tree hugger, then fair eough. But put it like this. The Uk has an area of 224,000 square km. Of this 22,000 sq km is forest and woodland. And of this, ancient woodland (the most biodiverse class of woodland we have) accounts for just 3,000 sq km.

"Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone "

Joni Mitchell
 
Last edited:
I got to school with them. Now they want to build a multi-million dollar structure for these yuppies to congregate - the Global Environmental Management Educational Center. Oh, by the way, they're cutting our tree climbing program from beginner and advanced classes to NOTHING.

Save the spotted owl. Eradicate the tree care professional.

Nickrosis
 
"A lot of these people are just middle class kids who, once they've got bored playing Che Quevara, will cut their hair, put on a suit and pull down some high paying job in a fashionable suburb of North London, then spend the rest of their lives discussing fine wine and interior design. "

Acer has got these guys pegged! All of the rads I came across in my years at the land of P.C. umass are attorneys or corporate lackeys. None of them working in anything remotely related to the "cause". They are usually the first to cash in and sell out their ideals and convictions.
 
Greenies just don't understand that a healthy forest is no accident. It is because of something man did. A forest left alone and protected from tools like fire will implode.

Nonconformists are all alike.
 
Not a single person on this earth knows what a forest would be like without any human intervention.

Nickrosis
 
No one knows what a forest would be like without human intervention but a missed fact is that there is no such thing as a climax community. Forests are always changing. Redwoods live and die. They are not forever. Parts of Montana used to have redwoods hundreds of thousands of years ago. Parts of central TX used to be covered in pinyon, ponderosa and before that, water. Were people in the ice age who hunted mommoths in TX and New Mexico concerned about global warming?? It sure warmed up. What about the great forests of mesopotamia or what is now the Sahara??

Greenie management plans miss this fact that forests are dynamic and thus cannot be "left alone" to achieve a mythical Climax Community.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top