Out of the Vault - Roger Jaegel

In 2004, this op-ed Roger Jaegel warned that halting fuels management on National Forests in Trinity County, California would have catastrophic consequences. Two decades later, the prediction has come true — approximately half of America's 100 million acres of National Forest now sit in fire-ready condition, with repeated burns converting once-prime timber stands into brush and invasive vegetation. The cost to the American public has reached an estimated one trillion dollars annually, yet fuels mitigation work remains far below the pace and scale needed to protect rural communities and the forests they depend on.