current environmental laws (Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act) make it extremely difficult to do controlled burns because they
(a) treat controlled burns as "human activity" requiring extensive review/permits
(b) make it easier for agencies to do nothing than to conduct preventive burns
(c) create major hurdles around air quality regulations, especially near cities
(d) paradoxically incentivize waiting for emergency wildfires, which are exempt from these regulations.
The authors argue these laws need reform to recognize fire as a natural process rather than treating it as human interference requiring heavy regulation.
TLDR:
current environmental laws (Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act) make it extremely difficult to do controlled burns because they
(a) treat controlled burns as "human activity" requiring extensive review/permits
(b) make it easier for agencies to do nothing than to conduct preventive burns
(c) create major hurdles around air quality regulations, especially near cities
(d) paradoxically incentivize waiting for emergency wildfires, which are exempt from these regulations.
The authors argue these laws need reform to recognize fire as a natural process rather than treating it as human interference requiring heavy regulation.