As the cost of fighting wildfires increases, state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner has proposed a bill — developed in consultation with the logging industry — that would shift millions in expenses away from the biggest landowners and onto taxpayers.
Environmental advocates say action is still needed to protect “mature” trees, while industry views the move as hindering timber harvests that provide wildfire protection.
A highway project planned since the 1960s is about to be built in West Virginia. Critics worry it will hurt the environment — and their revived economies.
As California confronts peak wildfire season with fewer firefighters than usual, the state’s timber industry is pushing federal and state officials to take an unprecedented step in calling in the military before fires get out of control.
This year, one of the last fugitives of the Earth Liberation Front pleaded guilty to arson — at a moment when climate activists are again flirting with radical ideas.
