Help for Arkansas' National Forests

Help for Arkansas' National Forests

Rep. Boozman's Column for the Week of February 2, 2004

Last fall, wildfires torched close to 800,000 acres, destroyed 3,640 homes and killed 22 people in California. The October California fires are the latest in a number of devastating fires that have burned nearly eleven million acres throughout the country over the past two years alone. Could all this destruction have been prevented? Perhaps, but it would take a major change in forest management practices to get our forests healthy enough that significant brush fire risks are reduced.

In August 2002, in the midst of one of the worst fire seasons on recent history, President George W. Bush launched his "Healthy Forests Initiative," which culminated in the signing of legislation to protect our forests last December. The initiative aims to reduce the risks of catastrophic fires by thinning dense undergrowth and brush in priority locations, but it a also provides for more timely responses to disease and insect infestations that threaten to devastate forests, like the red oak borer has done to the Ozark-St. Francis and Ouachita National Forests in Arkansas.

The two year life cycle of a red oak borer begins when an adult lays anywhere from 300 to 500 eggs in July or August on the bark of an oak tree. The larva mines under the bark during the first year, and then tunnels into the wood the second year. The borer's intense tunneling significantly reduces the life of the trees, weakening them to a point where they are a danger to visitors of the forest.

I have toured the Ozark National Forest with U.S. Forest Service officials and have seen firsthand the devastation caused by the red oak borer. This beetle, along with years of drought and lack of young trees, has caused the beauty of the Ozarks to be marred by an excessive number of dead or dying trees.

The loss of trees does not solely affect sightseers. Fewer trees mean fewer acorns, which in turn, result in fewer deer, bears and turkeys that feed on the acorns. Not only do the dead trees bring with them a greater threat of fire to neighboring communities, they are also dangerous to visitors engaged in outdoor activity in the forests. An estimated 1,800 miles of dead trees line the state's roads, which can make simply driving through our forests dangerous.

The problems plaguing the Ozark-St.Francis and Ouachita National Forests are not unique. While the overabundance of underbrush, dead oaks and dry heat are often blamed for wildfires in the West, their forests are fighting infestations as well. The damage insects do to trees adds to the debilitation of the forest and contributes to spread of wildfires by weakening trees throughout the forest.

Arkansans respect the beauty of our national forests. We are blessed to have such natural wonders in our backyard, but we have a responsibility to protect and nurture our forests. The passage of the Healthy Forest Initiative will give Forest Service officials the ability to take the necessary actions to protect the Ozark, St. Francis and Ouachita National Forests. The investment we make today will lead to a healthier, safer and more beautiful forest in the future.