When wildfires strike our national forests, what happens next determines their future. In Oregon’s Willamette National Forest, the 1996 Charlton Fire burned inside a designated Wilderness area where no trees could be salvaged or replanted.
Decades later, it continues to reburn, destroying soil, releasing carbon, and turning forestland into wasteland. Just miles away, the Shady Beach Fire burned in 1988. There, foresters removed dead trees and replanted a new forest. Today it’s thriving, green, and alive. This is the difference between action and inaction. We can choose to remove dead trees, reduce fuels, and replant new forests, so future generations inherit healthy, green landscapes instead of ashes. What do you choose?
