New West Network

My Page: Jane Shaw

SUPRESSING ACADEMIC FREEDOM?

As decisionmakers in the U.S. Forest Service remain stricken by "analysis paralysis", yet another round of controversy has erupted over scientific studies related to wildfire prevention and salvage logging on Western forestlands. Once again, ground zero is the site of the Biscuit Fire in Oregon but the ramifications, as the region heads into another fire season, are far and wide, extending to millions of acres of public land and the edges of cities where millions of people live. In this commentary from Alison Berry and Jane S. Shaw of the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) in Bozeman, it is argued that a "one size fits all" management protocol for confronting wildfire risk is a bad idea for the Forest Service. They also point out an example of what they suggest is suppression of scientific dissent. PERC, best known as a public policy thinktank that promotes market-based solutions to public lands over regulation, has drawn criticism over the years from mainstream environmentalists. Among those who have applied PERC's reasoning over the years to their own thinking are former Interior Secretaries James Watt and Gale Norton, current Assistant Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett and other environmental policy advisors close to President George W. Bush. However, in this instance, with this essay, it would appear that PERC and conservationists share much in common. [more]