“the history of our race may be said to be the history of warfare upon the tree world,”18 trees were not just economically but also culturally valuable, providing a measure of aesthetic attraction that would keep young people from moving to the city. Politically, this meant promoting the idea that all fire19 was dangerous, preventing the publication of studies that suggested otherwise, and dismissively referring to rural burning practices as “Paiute forestry.” 20 The debate over periodic burns versus total suppression was sealed during World War II, when the Forest Service put out propaganda
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