Study: Salvage logging, replanting worse

GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- Logging dead trees after a wildfire and planting new ones can make future fires worse, at least for a decade or two while the young trees create a volatile source of fuel, scientists found in a study that contradicts conventional practices.

The findings by scientists from the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State University and published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal raise questions about the long-standing practice of salvage logging on national forests.

The study, the first of its kind, comes at a time when global warming is expected to increase the size and numbers of wildfires and the annual cost of fighting them is running around $1 billion.