Two weeks ago the Brian Head fire exploded out of control and has since burned nearly 60,000 acres of the Dixie National Forest. This came as no surprise to many local residents who knew that nearly three decades of failed federal forest service policies have made a catastrophic fire inevitable.
In the 1990s an invasive species of beetle entered the area and began killing off trees. Locals wanted to inhibit the spread of the beetle but special interest groups sued to prevent it. This led to hundreds of thousands of dead trees. The beetles are long gone but the devastation they left behind remains. And all of those dead trees are feeding the growing fire.
Locals have pleaded with the Forest Service for years to allow loggers to thin the dead trees and mitigate the risk of fire, but special interests and Washington bureaucrats thousands of miles away continue to prohibit it.
Washington continues to control a large portion of the state of Utah and other western states yet they have proven time and time again they are incapable of managing it. Isn't it time we stop letting Washington politicians and bureaucrats dictate what happens in our state? Click here to learn more about how a Convention of States can reign in Washington's power.
