A Toast to You
Long-time SOSFers may recall my review of Ecological Science Relevant to Management Polices for Fire-prone Forests of the Western United States, Reed F. Noss (editor), Jerry F. Franklin, William Baker, Tania Schoennagel, and Peter B. Moyle, Society for Conservation Biology Scientific Panel on Fire in Western U.S. Forests. Feb. 2006.
That four-part review was sarcastically entitled Save the Tick Brush and I called the Noss-Franklin paper “The Worst Forest Science Paper of the 21st Century.” See [here], [here], [here], and [here].
“Eco…States” will go down in history as the rock-bottom worst forest science paper of the Modern Age. However, the paper is significant because it marks the final collapse of the old forest science paradigm. The inner contradictions, the abundant anomalies, and the tragic destruction of millions of acres of priceless, heritage forests have overwhelmed the old science, and branded it a failure. The Old Paradigm has been dying for quite awhile. “Eco…States” is the death rattle.
Every imaginable eco-error was committed in that paper, which was a paean to holocaust. Recall that Noss-Franklin extolled the virtues of “rare and/or uncommon early successional stands,” i.e. the brushy wastelands created by incinerating old-growth forests. Recall that Noss is a “former” Earth First! monkey-wrenching eco-terrorist.
And recall that I used the occasion to declare the Death of the Old Paradigm.
The Old Paradigm is dead. The shouting is not over, nor the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Congress will be the last to figure it out. There will always be adherents; witness the Flat Earth Society. But for all useful intents and purposes, the Old Paradigm is dead.
There will be no service, no memorial ceremony. It might be nice, but Science is not like that. Science is like a herd of water buffaloes, each a paradigm, and when one goes down to logical lions or anomalous crocodiles, the rest of the herd moves on without stopping. Historians look back; scientists look forward. Most forest scientists of professional caliber eschew the Old Paradigm already, and have for many years. Old adherents do and will deny any affiliation, current or former, with the deceased theories. …
The Old Paradigm was too dumb, too political, and mostly, too destructive. The forest fires of recent years, historically huge and catastrophic, are what really killed it. The gears never meshed. The monkey wouldn’t dance. The Old Paradigm theories flopped, big time. Now the show has jumped the shark.
And indeed it has. Now, after a suitable mourning period, former Old Paradigmers are pretending they never worshiped at the altar of catastrophic megafire.
I don’t mean to rub it in, with bitterness and barely tempered rage. Instead I intend to move forward, with or without them. But in the spirit of forgiveness (it’s Christmas, after all), I am willing to allow the “former” eco-terrorists to come along, too. And I also recognize that the poor dolts are dragging enormous baggage with them, and that impedes their progress.
It’s all political with them. With them Science was abandoned long ago (and will be abandoned again, no doubt, when the political winds blow).
Megafires, on the other hand, are not political. Fire doesn’t know or care which political party the fuel belongs to. Forests don’t vote, incinerated or not.
We have experienced a rash of megafires over the last 20 years, the largest fires in the history of Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, California, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Washington. The tragedy of holocaust has been spread far and wide. And now, in the aftermath of unprecedented destruction of America’s public forests, the light is beginning to flicker on, even in the camps of the eco-wackos. And just when they got the Chief of the US Forest Service to join their Wildlands Project, too!
SOSF slings and arrows have hit home, and the No Touch, Let It Burn, Watch It Rot crowd has felt them. No forestry school in the country can deny that they are reeling from our headshots. We engendered an undercurrent of disgust and dismissal of pseudo-scientific arsonism that has hit them in their wallets. Nobody wants to pay for fake forestry that breeds holocausts anymore. More from Save The Tick Brush:
Old Paradigm research funds are drying up. No one likes their tax dollars going to eco-bigots who espouse catastrophic fires that destroy America’s priceless, heritage forests. No one wants to fund studies of tick brush! This is not a future prediction. Budgets are bankrupt today. Major forest science research institutions (guess which one) have overspent and are facing financial collapse. Extensive layoffs are coming, as well as early retirements and departures for greener pastures.
The paradigm-shifting testimony we reported on last post is a sign that all we have done at SOSF is taking effect. It is not the end of the battle, by no means, but the old walls are crumbling.
We have more to do. It is time to press our advantage. But at this moment, it is also appropriate to give praise and gratitude to the stalwarts who have fought the good fight. My own deep personal appreciation goes out to Dave, John, Bob, Randy, Jack, Jim, Steve, Susan, Greg, Juanita, Tom, Charles, Laurie, Barb, and all the others who have contributed so much and made this exercise enjoyable and rewarding.
We are winning. It may not seem so; the wastelands created in the last two years are shocking and horrible. But day by day, post by post, we are having an effect, a positive effect, and we are going to be victorious eventually. Proper and beneficial forest stewardship is our goal, and we are going to save America’s priceless, heritage forests (what’s left of them). We are going leave a legacy to our grand and great grandchildren that we can be proud of.
So I raise a toast to you, forest aficionados. Thank you for caring, and for never giving an inch. We’re not finished, but we are moving forward.
