Re-Examining “Wilderness” in the Era of Megafires

Planting trees for timber, failing to prescribe burn the forests, and suppressing all fires for more than a century are all examples of failed land management policies. By keeping humans out of “wilderness” we are causing more harm than good. We should be tending the garden, thinning our fuels, preserving what’s left of our forests. But how do we achieve such massive forest clearing if machines and semi-permanent human habitation are federally illegal in “wilderness”? Either our wilderness laws change to adapt with the times, or our culture has to change such that all plainclothes citizens are personally thinning the forests they call home in partnership with local organizations. So which will it be?