Forest thinning might lead to more wildfire danger, researchers say
'Many of the things being done in forests will potentially make them more flammable, not less,' said David Lindenmayer, distinguished professor with .
Lindenmayer says he, along with a , began studying active management strategies shortly after a number of wildfires tore across Australian forests in 2009.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched a new . The plan called for the Forest Service to treat 50 million acres of federal, state, tribal, and private lands through prescribed burns and forest thinning. The Biden administration committed nearly $3 billion to the strategy, including hazardous fuel reduction projects.
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According to a statement from a USDA spokesperson, 'Current studies and data shows the benefit of fuel treatments positively influencing fire behavior and reduce fire severity.'
'I think the key thing here is evidence. Do all these things work? For some ecosystems, including western USA, the evidence is very slim if at all,' Lindenmayer told ABC4.com. 'There will be situations where actions… like salvage logging, will make it worse, not better.'
Lindenmayer says his research shows that when a forest is logged and regenerated, it can have a pulse of flammability as the forest regrows.
Rebecca Diehl, the Utah representative for , says one fuel reduction logging project caused the Yellow Lake Fire, which scorched 33,000 acres in the Uinta Mountains in 2024.
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'This is one of countless timber sales across Utah and the West that the Forest Service has approved under the guise of 'forest health' and 'fuel reduction,'' Diehl said.
According to the USDA, logging contracts in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest are sold to contractors as a part of fuel reduction efforts. Thinning and prescribed burns are also used to reduce fuel.
'It tends to be drier, warmer, and windier, because there are all these gaps in canopies across the landscape,' Lindenmayer said. 'There's also fuel left over after logging including debris left over that can add to a forest's flammability.'
According to Diehl, salvage logging can also destroy the habitats for a number of species.
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'There's this perception that when we see dead trees it's bad, but dead trees are such a fundamental part of the ecosystem,' Diehl told ABC4.com. 'The forest is doing a better job managing itself than we are.'
USDA policy calls for the suppression of all human-caused fires but allows some wildland fires to burn. Naturally ignited fires are sometimes managed to achieve 'ecological benefits' if conditions are safe, according to a spokesperson with USDA.
'Incorporating new data enables us to make intentional management decisions so that we can provide for ecological integrity and decrease fire behavior.' USDA said.
'We need to make sure there's a good evidence base for the kinds of things that are being done.' Lindenmayer told ABC4.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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