Wildfire Management

Re “Forest Service Plan Would Triple Logging Limits in Sierra,” June 6: The U.S. Forest Service’s plan for increasing logging limits is a thinly veiled smokescreen to benefit timber companies under the guise of a wrongheaded wildfire management plan. Rather than ask logging companies to groom our forests by removing small trees and natural brush, government officials need to acknowledge the wealth of data that supports fire’s necessary role in maintaining the biodiversity in fire-dependent ecosystems. The Yellowstone fires of 1988 provide a perfect example of how a forest benefits from fire.

Donn Umber

Santa Monica