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--> --> Not-for-profit fire hazard reduction is necessary Facts: More than 200,000 acres of Oregon timber has burned during the 2002 fire season - and 15 wildfires are still licking through the trees, adding to the destruction. More than 4 million acres have burned this year nationwide. Seventy-two million more acres are still threatened. And, the fire season is anything but over. What to do? The issue is fire hazard reduction. It is possible to bring together the timber industry and environmentalists - which is to say put an end to the snarling of extreme positions - and develop a sane policy to keep wildfires within acceptable, natural limits. There is much rhetoric about how much government can do for us. But one thing it can do is make - and enforce - policies beneficial to all. All government has to do is get after it, and throw some money into the pot. Lawsuits and appeals by environmental groups is an accepted method of curbing wanton timber harvest. The timber industry blames environmentalists, insisting all their fire suppression efforts are being thwarted by these lawsuits. Meanwhile, the government's forest agencies stand around insisting that fuel reduction is necessary, but there is no policy. The fact is, there's too much standing around. The Forest Service needs direction, and must attract the good sense and good science of the warring nations - timber and environment. If these agencies have enough money, they can subsidize fuel reduction and thinning operations. And if they have enough money, they can pay for the science to properly manage our forests. Forests have a way of removing board feet on their own. And since we've settled this land, we need to be able to manage it, and be good stewards simultaneously. Profit is not an acceptable motive. Fire hazard reduction is. The Times Herald-Record, Middleton, N.Y. on World Trade Center plans Six of one, a half-dozen of another. That sums up the six designs submitted for rebuilding the World Trade Center site. ... Most strikingly, not one of them elicits any kind of emotional response. At two public hearings last week, more than 4,000 people told the Lower Manhattan Development Corp, a public agency created to oversee the rebuilding, what they thought of the designs. Most found them to be dull, sterile, predictable and woefully inappropriate. City Mayor Michael Bloomberg reassured New Yorkers that the proposals were the beginning, not the end, of the process of deciding how to rebuild the site of the Twin Towers. In that case, the development corporation should scrap these designs and open the process to anyone who wants to offer a vision of downtown's future. "Vision" is the key word. ... There is a legitimate argument as to whether New York City needs to rebuild all or most of the commercial space at the site of Ground Zero. Many in the business community say yes. Gov. George Pataki and former Mayor Rudolf Giuliani, two men who appreciate the economic consequences, don't think so. They think there should be a memorial to honor those who died there and those who were part of the heroic rescue and recovery effort. ... Minot (N.D.) Daily News on corporate scandal Congress and President Bush need to act. They need to act aggressively and do it swiftly. In unison, they need to show the world that by investing in U.S. stocks people are not buying into a rigged game. A House-Senate conference committee is wrangling over how tough to make an accounting reform and investor protection bill. The Senate version has more teeth but the bill could be tougher by half. Americans have lost confidence in the markets and, some, their shirts. Shysters and crooks masquerading as corporate decision makers have highjacked the confidence in the stock markets once held by U.S. and foreign investors. ... Congress needs a bill that puts the fear of God, not to mention fear of regulators and investors into CEOs. ... Bush has said he will sign any reform bill that Congress puts before him. That's good, but what will Bush do to contribute to the spirit of reform? He needs to do something and do it quick. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing