An independent oversight agency claims the mismanagement of California forests as a leading cause for the rise in wildfires.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, 27 million trees have died on state and federal lands in the last year.
Since 2010, some 129 million trees have died.
California’s Little Hoover Commission, a state government review agency, says the state’s forests suffer from neglect and mismanagement, leaving them prone to disease, insects and wildfires.
The #LittleHoover Commission found that CA’s forests are reaching a breaking point. During our study the number of dead trees grew from 102 million to 129 million. Read our full report here: https://t.co/0afZydgaMF pic.twitter.com/xwPmPAEixg
— CA Little Hoover (@CALittleHoover) February 5, 2018
The report suggests California lawmakers do the following:
- Simplify how they take care of land in the state
- Add more financial and staffing resources
- Take steps to protect air and water quality
- Spend more time telling people why spending on forest treatments is important
