Dear Editor:
The summer of 2026 is recorded as the hottest on record in the West. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, with so many wildfires. The question is … now what?
We have honed fire management skills on public lands along with emotionally charged goals and not common sense. Years ago, BLM had a special meeting in Boise to discuss goals. A list of issues including spotted frogs, redbanded trout, sage grouse, riparian areas, wilderness roadless, wilderness and cattle-free wilderness. Each goal emphasized reductions in livestock grazing.
I commented that the number one effect of priorities was the very real possibility of fire fuel loads resulting in harm or destruction of the listed goals.
Jon Marvel of Western Watersheds Project jumped up, looked at me, and emphatically announced, “I’d rather have it all burn up than have your cows get a mouthful.” — Michael F. Hanley IV, Jordan Valley, OR
