Bush crafted blueprint for healthy forests

In August 2002 during one of the worst fire seasons to that point in recent history, President George W. Bush launched the Healthy Forests Initiative aimed at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

It was a solid, common-sense plan intended to remove wood debris which fuels infernos and rehabilitate diseased, dying, and dead forests. It would generate revenue from wood sales which would be used to pay for healthier timberlands.

The impetus came from the severe wildland fires in 2000 when 8.4 million acres burned. In 2024, 8.9 million acres incinerated, and yearly suppression costs for th...