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Julie Parrish is 1) not a scientist and 2) on the board of Timber Unity, which was formed to fight climate change policies. The group is increasingly affiliated with far-right extremist groups and white supremacist groups. She is, these days, their primary talking head. https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1305326551412756480
Yes, this is an op-ed and not a reported piece. But it was clearly included, along with a much more accurate piece, to give the image that there are "two sides" to the debate.
But there's only one reason to assume management is the reason for the fires: climate denial.
But there's only one reason to assume management is the reason for the fires: climate denial.
And it certainly felt that news orgs had long since come to agree that when it comes to the scientific consensus on the reality of human-caused climate change: there is no "other side."
I'd also like to address something Parrish said in the story -- that the state of Oregon lost a lawsuit for not fulfilling their forest management obligations. It's a deliberate misrepresentation of what happened.
Parrish is conflating logging with anti-fire forest management techniques.
Many rural schools and districts get their funding from logging. Because people haven't been purchasing those logging contracts, rural areas didn't receive ~1.1 billion in income from logging.
Many rural schools and districts get their funding from logging. Because people haven't been purchasing those logging contracts, rural areas didn't receive ~1.1 billion in income from logging.
The intricacies and pros/cons of that system are another story for another time. BUT the key thing here is that the logging Parrish mentions has nothing whatsoever to do with fire suppression. It's clearcutting, not thinning.
We ARE behind on fire suppression in this state... but not because we aren't thinning enough. It's because we aren't *burning* enough. We have a massive backlog of thinned lands waiting for federal funding to start burning. https://www.opb.org/news/article/west-wildfire-risks-fuels-treatment-thinning-burning/
The idea that Oregon has de-prioritized logging over the last 20 years, which Parrish promotes, is also not supported by data.
OPB science & environment investigative powerhouse @tonyvschick threw this graph together while watching Peppa Pig with his daughter. A legend.
OPB science & environment investigative powerhouse @tonyvschick threw this graph together while watching Peppa Pig with his daughter. A legend.
As noted, the type of logging Parrish is talking about is clearcutting, not thinning.
And there's evidence clearcutting & tree farming can make fires worse, as @radiojes reported last year https://www.opb.org/news/article/wildfire-severity-private-public-forests/
And there's evidence clearcutting & tree farming can make fires worse, as @radiojes reported last year https://www.opb.org/news/article/wildfire-severity-private-public-forests/
VERY important correctio - I should have said that Timber Unity is increasingly ASSOCIATED with white supremacist and far-right groups, not AFFLIATED. The groups are present at their rallies and prolific on their online message boards, but there is no official link between them.
And twitter needs to give us an edit button pronto because this is a BIG error on my part. I blame my 6AM brain.
Here is more information on the association between Timber Unity and far-right extremist groups in Oregon, and Parrish's response to calls for violence on their facebook groups. https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2020/03/03/a-report-says-oregons-republican-protesters-are-mingling-with-fringe-figures/
Here’s more context on Parrish’s history with the timber lobby. https://twitter.com/robwdavis/status/1305571669986209792
Her history with Timber Unity is fraught, too. Founding members say she took it over and turned a grass-roots rural-Oregon-based movement into one that centers urban politicians and weaponizes rural experience and concerns to further her own agenda. https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2019/08/07/truckers-and-loggers-started-a-rebellion-in-oregon-political-insiders-took-it-over/
