Illegal aliens, U.S. citizens and forest practices fodder for debate on wildfires
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 11:14AM 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts prescribed burns in hopes of reducing potential damage to property when a wildfire occurs. (Photo: Branch of Fire Management/USFWS)When there’s a wildfire in a large forested area, it’s inevitable that the global warming alarmist bloc will jump to conclusions that carbon emissions are the indirect cause.
What media doesn’t present a full picture on is the impact of illegal aliens, U.S. citizens and federal forestry practices on wildfires. We could call it the human non-carbon factor.
On Monday, The Smoking Gun reported the largest wildfire in Arizona was allegedly started when a guy at a bachelor party campout decided to fire an “incendiary shotgun shell” at a soda box. Here’s the really troublesome aspect of that decision:
A warning on the Fiocchi 12 gauge round’s packaging made its danger clear: ‘Shoots 100 feet of fire, setting everything in its path ablaze. Warning: Extreme FIRE HAZARD.’
That fire burned 17,618 acres. A U.S. citizen appears to be the cause and he will face charges in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.
At present, federal agencies are investigating the Colorado Springs fire for possible arson.
In November, 2011, blogger Dave Gibson wrote about a new report from the Government Accountability Office:
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) just released a report identifying those entering the country illegally from Mexico as being responsible for more than one-third of the human-ignited wildfires in Arizona between 2006 and 2010.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service tolerates illegal practices on public lands. In June, illegal aliens were caught “harvesting plants in the Olympic National Forest.” The Forest Service called Border Patrol agents to translate. One of the aliens jumped into the river and drowned. The other was released “on humanitarian grounds.”
If a U.S. citizen is caught harvesting threatened or endangered plants or any other type of plant or animal illegally, you will be charged and probably end up in jail. That is a sharp contrast to the "humanitarian" treatment given illegal aliens caught doing the same thing.
The administration of President Barack Obama responded to the Olympic National Forest incident by pacifying advocacy groups for illegals who come from south of the border. The Forest Service can no longer call Border Patrol for translators.
It’s not unusual for people to try to harvest exotic plants for the black market or other uses, even if those plants are endangered.
Aside from plant harvesting, however, other practices by the Forest Service need to be addressed. Could better management practices—more controlled burns, thinning stands where underbrush is overgrown—help prevent the spread of these fires?
Man’s impact on the environment is not narrowly confined to carbon emissions. The U.S. Government’s obsession with carbon as culprit for all natural ills is a threat to national security, to our economy and to common sense.
(Commentary by Kay B. Day/July 3, 2012)