To the Editor,

As the anniversary of a massive brushfire approaches, it's time we learned our lesson.

On April 14, 2023, a human-set brushfire in Exeter burned more than 200 acres of forest, the largest wildfire in Rhode Island in more than 50 years.

While Rhode Island's forests are naturally not fire prone, this fire started in a forest clearcut created by The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service a few years before.

This clearcut caused flammable wood slash to be deposited on the forest floor from the logged trees, made dry through the increased sunlight from the massive hole in the tree canopy.

Flammable underbrush and young trees thrived from the increased sunlight and more wind was able to flow through the forest due to the holes in the forest canopy.

Despite this, millions of taxpayer dollars are being allocated to logging our state-owned public forests from the 2024 Green Bond under the guise of fire prevention, while in reality it's making our forests more fire prone.

The best way to prevent brushfires in our forests is to protect fire resistant old growth forests and ban clearcutting on state-owned land.

Increased logging from tax subsidies to the timber industry will just make fires in our forests more likely.

Please email your state representatives and senators to pass the Old Growth Forest Protection Act H 5294, and oppose the Forest Parity Act (Timber Industry Expansion Bill) H 5098/S 0679.

Nathan Cornell

Warwick

Cornell is president of the Old Growth Tree Society