On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:24:03 -0400, wrote:



That is an interesting thing. We were in the Black Hills a couple
summers ago and they have huge piles of Doug Fir everywhere that they
are just going to burn. The Park Service goes through and thins out
particular trees all summer and then, as soon as it gets enough snow
on the ground to avoid a forest fire they burn these "slash piles".

http://gfretwell.com/ftp/slash%20pile.jpg

The best explanation I could get was they were banned from "logging"
there so they had to burn them instead of giving/selling to a saw
mill.
Environmentalists and inintended consequences or just protecting tree
farmers and propping up the price of wood?
Anyone's guess.
It is some nice looking "lumber" to be burning.

Probably just the inefficiency gov suffers from in trying to keep
clean hands.
If they sold it they'd run into accusations of corruption and
favoritism, true or not, so they take the easy way out.
Too bad there aren't more people with plain business sense in the gov.
And where there is massive fraud, like Medicare and SS disability,
they don't hire investigative staff, which would pay off 10 to 1,
because they'll be accused of "growing the government."
Back to that brush pile - imagine the air pollution from burning it.
Just doesn't make sense.

--Vic