Reddit mentions of The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America

> Rhetoric like this doesn't help the discussion.

Actually, the truth is helpful, but it can be uncomfortable. I meant "supporters" like Trump means "taxpayers".

The right wing or GOP are typically associated with and supported by the extractive industries like logging and mining. Salvage logging is still controversial among ecologists with soil erosion being a prime concern. So any place with the steep slopes of the Columbia River Gorge should not be considered.

Greg knows this, but he made the recommendation to salvage log anyway. That was unhelpful. It fits the pattern of grabbing and extracting while relaxing environmental controls at every step. It's just how the GOP operate when it comes to natural resources.

> I really would like to understand the motivation behind this

If you haven't yet, read The Big Burn for starters. This battle over the forests of America has been going on a long time and it's part of a bigger battle against the 0.001%.

The Big Burn by Timothy Egan

Gives an in depth description of the beginning of the national parks as well as the fire that really helped start the U.S. Forest Service. Highly recommended and a great historical read.

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Burn-Teddy-Roosevelt-America/dp/0547394608

http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/site/c.elKSIdOWIiJ8H/b.8344379/k.2B69/The_Hunter.htm

How about this or the dozens of results from google if you type in Teddy Roosevelt Outdoorsman? What about the book The Big Burn which goes into the beginnings of his relationship with the Parks services.

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Burn-Teddy-Roosevelt-America/dp/0547394608

There's a really great book about the Big Burn that I highly recommend and PBS turned it into an episode of American Experience. If you care about wilderness conservation I highly recommend both as they also go into the birth of the forest service and how ironically a huge, devastating fire actually saved much of the West from development.

That makes sense. I like reading, but I'm not in the 'reading culture,' I don't enjoy book clubs, and I don't sub to /r/books, so I'm probably an atypical book fan. I never really give that sort of thing much thought. Makes sense, though. Then again, I'm probably an outlier because one of my all time favorite books was just some local history profile.

There's a great book called The Big Burn about a massive fire that was, in part, caused by clearing out the underbrush. This kept small fires from starting which lead to a massive fire.

Forests are supposed to have leaves and undergrowth. It's important for soil health and fire safety. So important that there are plants that can't germinate unless there's a fire. So beyond the fact that this problem was caused by corporate greed, the solution of "rake the forests" isn't just dumb but is actually counterproductive.

Dude if you want to read an awesome book about the origins of fighting wildfires, read http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Burn-Roosevelt-America/dp/0547394608

Takes place during Teddy Roosevelt's presidency, there is some huge fire that's like the largest wildfire in history I think, and they deploy all these firefighters to fight it and a bunch of em die. But there's one guy who saves a bunch of people, and this tool he invented is still in use by firefighters today, named after him, its called the Pulaski I think.

The Bully Pulpit is a good read. I also liked The Big Burn, which while it doesn't have Roosevelt always front and center, is quite good.

The Big Burn is about a huge forest fire in the early 1900s that really cemented the Forest Service's role in the American West thanks to Teddy Roosevelt. Lots of stories about bravery in the face of the inferno.