Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 3 · column 2 of 5 · from the scan, no model involved
The emergency provisions of the Wilderness Act permit the authorities to do anything necessary to protect public health and safety. This means going into wilderness areas with every form of mechanized transport known to man to meet any emergency.
It is true that the old fire roads and trails will regenerate some under wilderness but the notion that they will be totally impassable in the near future is far fetched. In any event, many of them receive heavy use from hikers and horse riders and this will help keep them open.
Now let’s examine the notion which is receiving wide attention that the Park Service might just allow a fire to burn itself out without controlling it. In nature’s scheme of things, wild fire has always had a part to play in the diverse ecological systems which evolved over many millions of years. Scientists and professional land managers now recognize that fire can be a good thing in an ecological sense. In vast western areas fires are sometimes allowed to burn uncontrolled. The chances of that happening here are so remote as to cause amazement that it is a serious objection to wilderness. I do not believe the National Park Service would dare not to control wildfire in a long, narrow park where fire could easily spread to private property, given the favorable factors of wind, low humidity and forest dryness. Were this to occur, the Park Service would be in deep, deep trouble with the public, a risk it most assuredly will not assume. Park Service personnel
97.2%