I had the honor of speaking with Dr. Bill twice, providing him some information on coal mine fires from my experience with the industry. The Government officials are now promoting exactly the opposite. "A lot of environmental messages are simply not accurate," said Jerry Franklin, a professor of forest ecology and ecosystem science at the University of Washington. The trees are now The reason the logging industry wants to get at the large growth, because of the higher profit margin. there is not a shred of good science that says that a forest totally destroyed Bay Area News Group, by Paul Rogers Original Article. I remember he kept warning us that the Sierra Club policies were going to cause huge forest fires, massive forest fires and lookhe was right! Oh, and they also block road and freeway construction and expansion. I never listen to KGO any more unless I travel to the Bay Area and listen for road conditions and thats about all. View Bill Wattenburg's verified business profile as Director, Research at California Teacher's Association. Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act, indications wont allow firefighters to extinguish lightening fires. that all our forests, even the few remaining old growth forests that they claim they are He had an excellent deep, baritone voice and was an adroitly erudite gentleman. It was formulated by local environmentalists, That is sad. Email . fires of long ago seldom reached the lower limbs of big trees which would cause them to of Wildfires have some benefits: EDIT: to clarify that the following is a quote from a web site, not a continuation of Erik's quote above. Mans problem is that he wants the trees and forest right next to his habitat but doesnt want nature to take its course. He was generally considered a conservative; however, he espoused some traditionally liberal or libertarian positions on a handful of social issues, such as abortion rights. strike. its National Park Service dogma of let fires burn did to Yellowstone in 1988 Dr. Bill Wattenburg has been railing on the environmentalist's out here on the left coast for some time. This continued until January 22, 2012, when he joined the Talk Radio Network[12], In 2012, Bill Wattenburg signed with Talk Radio Network and his show was available to radio stations nationwide in syndication. There are many levels of habitat in a natural forest, can you say NATURAL? lightening strike. there will be many more Yellowstones in the next three to five years. the last forty years. (full name: The But much of it is not actually used to protect the environment. Say what you want about "greedy corporations," but the people they employ need the jobs. The rural drinking water is unsafe and even the municipalities waterworks are. good scientists and experienced foresters who have seen the consequences He inspired me so much. [citation needed] It was published under the pseudonym Will Harvey. as compared to man-caused fires. From the first linked article that some chose not to read. This is what happened For every tree that is felled they plant two, however they space them apart properly which results in healthier faster growing trees.If a fire does start in the privately held forests, it is rare that any catastrophic fire ever starts. Fire does neat things to the soil that promotes rapid growth otherwise. You live in the midwest. The present government policies on forest management will guarantee that Most of the large fires and complexes burned actively in California. I don't advocate getting rid of environmentalists. Eventually, the entire forest becomes a fire break because it has Very few natural fires can occur today because most of our forests are not in Adequate fire breaks require was approved overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives by both parties. On his show, Wattenburg answered questions about everything from car repairs to physics and often would help kids who called in with homework questions. That was the case not too long ago, when he disapproved of how Plumas Unified School District was handling a project in Portola. I'm guessing either the homes burned due to falling embers landing on the roofs, or fire from the underbrush within the forests reached the houses. forced the cutting of hundreds of thousands of green trees on other forests to DR. BILL WATTENBURG. these groups claim that approval of any activity by man in our national forests will lead This was a few days after parting ways with KGO-AM. Wattenburg joined the network to fill the void left by The Savage Nation ending its run. Ironically, many national groups that call themselves environmentalists The enviroloonies want to limit cities' growth, and build only high-density housing. He said then we need to thin them or else we can expect massive forest fires in the future. Any thinking destroy far more than can be renewed. small trees that are needlessly burned and wasted by the governments insane The Fan Fire ballooned to cover about 1,800 acres by July 2, but then slowed. I don't know how much you have to deal with environmentalists where you live, but this state is virtually run by them. How little we learn from history. He was correct on a lot of issues that have come home to roost, today. I've even heard rumors that terrorists are behind it. small trees. They are a classic example of what happens when you make decisions based on emotions rather than science and logic. A 1999 report by the U.S. General Accounting Office found that 39 million acres across the West are "at high risk of catastrophic fire." In other words, some trees cannot reproduce without a fire. all living things therein. variety. Legal name changes Willard Harvey Wattenburg (February 9, 1936 - August 2, 2018) [1] was an American inventor, engineer, author, and talk radio show host from California. He advocated for nuclear energy, criticized the Sierra Club and argued that the failure to clear the high country of underbrush would lead to massive wildfires. That is not the A bill to implement this plan I am a scientist who grew up in our national forests. Any real scientist should take great offense to the self-proclaimed fire scientists They now put the icicle plants back. Oh yeah I can predict that answer. The Sierra club along with it's spinoff organizations file lawsuits every time someone wants to clear brush or trees. Dr. Bill Wattenburg is a nationally known radio talk show host who is also an accomplished scientist. Beside the point. all access roads in our forests. Petitions to Administer Estate (Probate) Instead, it is siphoned off to pay for bureaucratic overhead and fund raising, including expensive direct-mail and telemarketing consultants. today. This will lead to the destruction of all of our I was one of ten-thousand called upon, too late, to try to The Quincy Library Group plan was finally approved by in the Senate in the They are diverting burning down the house. Anyone who doubts this should Bush will probably use this as an example of the need to "thin" the forests in the best interests of the environment, the poor, poor endangered animals and peoples safety, but certainly not for the logging interests. He then returned to Berkeley for his doctorate in electrical engineering with professor Harry Huskey, completing it in three years, and worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and as a professor at Berkeley until 1970. He was right about most things, including how the LIB (Let It Burn) Typical drive-by comment! On his show, Wattenburg answered questions about everything from car repairs to physics and often would help kids who called in with homework questions. Steep areas with a combination of brush and trees. Ive been trucking for 35 years and in the 80s & 90s I ran CA to OR and KGO radio would come in all up and down the west coast clear at night. They were areas that are hard to access. can save it. RIP Mr. Wattenburg. Then controlled burns can be safely attempted in isolated sections and lightening Otherwise, massive crowning wildfires will quickly spread out sacrificed as guinea pigs for poorly supported ecological theories that are not consistent Wattenburg was fired by KGO, along with most of the station's other talk hosts on December 2, 2011 as the station, owned by Cumulus Media decided to abandon the long-time and listener-appreciated talk radio format and switch to a mostly news format in competition with #1 KCBS. They and other so-called I would like to add that California is perhaps the most beautiful state in the union and isnt it in everyones best interests that it be preserved with the utmost care and dilligence? Alcohol Beverage Licenses summer of 1988. He had made campaign promises so he had to do something. This is the Quincy Library Group plan. rich ecology is a ghastly example of horrible judgment that the let forest fires . person, scientist for sure, can easily understand the basics of this subject and the Even when I was drawn into my 20+ years of idiot liberalism once I got into my 20's and I had now political . season is the only way we can clean up and protect our national forests and avoid Another reason why some forests aren't healthy due to fire suppressioncertain species of trees *require* fire to get their seeds going. Faster growing for what purpose? American radio has lost a sensibly prudent interlocutor. But man, he could be brutal if you tried to BS him. unnaturally intense forest fires during peak fire season. high fire season. Ya'll give it a break. The universal consequences of his voting for Trump erased any good he might have done throughout his 82 yeas on this planet. The Sierra Club officially insists that all human activity were fire-tolerant. bring in people who will destroy the forests and wildlands. . face that the progress of a raging forest fire is dictated by whether man or When public policy decisions are made on runaway emotions instead of facts, a lot of damage is done. Some of his recurring topics were whether premium gasoline was worthwhile, nuclear power, and criticism of the environmental movement. So he trys to change the natural process and as a result, screws up the environment, which in turn comes back to bite him. NYC confirmed COVID-19 deaths 6840, probable deaths additional 4059. I doesn't suprise me that the term money comes up in articles such as these. limited in area by the surrounding fire breaks. academic and government positions actively promote a policy of let forest fires What really looks strange tho, is the fact that the timber lines along the back of the homes appears untouched by fire. Look, I'm not saying "rape the environment", just use science and logic, not emotion, when passing legislation. However, the Sierra Club and other so-called Notices of Public Sale deliberately set by government agents get out of hand. Here in Iowa, the environment is horrible due to farm herbicide/pesticide runoff and large corporate hog lots with relaxed pollution regulations. Subsidized by federal tax dollars, environmental groups are filing a blizzard of lawsuits that no longer yield significant gain for the environment and sometimes infuriate federal judges and the Justice Department. times more dead trees than normal in healthy forests. ------------------Question wonder and be wierdare you kind? When our forests were in fire Just an awesome man! If the whole world was destroyed tomorrow except for 2 of you, you'd both spend the rest of your lives pointing your fingers at each other blaming the other. Fires? In 1985 he used heavy equipment to permanently remove mountaintops to access California's gold deposits at the Sunbelt Mining Company-controlled Calgom Mine near one of his residences in Plumas County, California. 1 in the ratings in 11 states. demanded by the so-called environmental groups such as the Sierra Club. not clean up in time. their funding agencies. Modern Logging Practices Dont Damage the LandCompare the images below of a burned forest, an overgrown forest, and one that has been logged. our national forests will lead automatically to expanded exploitation of the difference between a fire started by a man-made match and a fire ignited by a lightening Lately, Wattenburg hosted a show at KSCO-AM in Santa Cruz, which announced his death on Saturday. most beautiful national park is then allowed to spend tens of millions of Wow, we've come full circle, and haven't solved the problem.Besides, what right to you, or I have, to tell these people they can't live there, or make their living in a way we disapprove? require only thinning excessive numbers of small trees and removing the brush, It was previou Only a fraction of the local news stories covered by the Daily Post appear on this website. Who would rather enjoy an artificial forest over a natural one? fires at dangerous times and help manage controlled burns at proper times for See Profile. them to healthy fire-tolerant condition for our future generationsinstead Has Climate Change Made a 'New' Forest Fire? U.S. State, 7905 deaths. Dr. Bill. and build firebreaks, will lead to the cutting of all the trees. without burning down the house. Why can't we just take the last 5% of old growth that we haven't raped and leave it alone? 369. Bush is not the anti-Christ and is not to blame for the world we now find ourselves in. A few people have a clue - moderation is the key. Just add "George Bush and loggers want to ruin the forests for $$$", and you're ready to join the Sierra Club. Suburban sprawl is mans doing, not natures and needs to be solved by intelligent management, rules and regulations, not be controlled by greed and profit as it now is, brought to you by your corporate world large land developers whos only interest is to make money. It is not that way anymore. washed away from hillsides by rains before new root structure can save it. Additionally, he frequently discussed his support for American-made automobiles, arguing that the performance of such cars rivals that of equivalent foreign cars. In The previous seven-year drought produced ten burn which they know can result in the total incineration of many of our forests and that the Clinton White House would buckle. The cruel irony is that any camper who lets an uncontrolled campfire burn In press reports, In 1999 -- the most recent year for which comparable figures are available -- chief executives at nine of the nation's 10 largest environmental groups earned $200,000 and up, and one topped $300,000. It's so easy for some people to decide someone else doesn't deserve equal rights. Service by Publication the most dangerous fire season in decades. Rest in Radio paradise Dr. we will miss you! That is proper forest management via nature. protective fire breaks and only then conduct controlled burns that could have The same machines also make it possible to take more trees at a much faster rate, stripping the forests in less time. Yes, *when* the timber barrons did that. Nevertheless, national environmental groups such as the Sierra Club have lobbied selected Bill Wattenburg, a former nuclear weapons designer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who hosted a popular late-night show on KGO radio for 39 years, has died of cancer at age 82. Hmmmm, money suddenly isn't so evil. A Q&A with Ecologist, Bill Anderegg, PhD by Benjamin Ragen, PhD | March 13, 2020. still typifies most of the burned areas in Yellowstone today and assess for Same with thinning. are fit to judge what is sensible policy for the management of our forests. It's been so for centuries, long before the developers moved in. Nobody good enough to fill your shoes. debate and assessment of the let forest fires burn policy. "[8], From 1972 to December 2, 2011, Wattenburg was the host of The Open Line to the West Coast, a talk show heard late Saturday and Sunday evenings 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. PT from San Francisco on KGO, AM 810kHz. He taught everyone who listened to him many things, and if you honestly wanted to learn something he was very patient and kind. The fire codes are already strict out here but once the firestorm starts nothings going to stop the buildings from burning.Many of the Fire lanes have been closed due to litigation by the environmental organizations, and its the same story with controlled logging.Hopefully we can have a common sense approach from here on out.Well have to see.For once we would like to have some Texas humidity oh, about 100 percent. There is not a shred of evidence that mother But also, to say that we should just let nature take it's course is crazy too. Hundreds if not thousands of homes and businesses did to Yellowstone in 1988 than would have been required to first construct What's that you say, just tell them to move to the big city? Might I also dare to point out that immigration, illegal & otherwise is exacerbating this situation? The real problem isn't being addressed - the human population explosion. ignite and in turn create a fire storm that incinerates everything else in the forest.
