Bush visits the Rockies to highlight forest work

Associated Press

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. – President Bush left the seclusion and triple-digit heat of his central Texas ranch Tuesday for Colorado’s high country, helping out in a fire-prevention and trail-building effort.

“One of the things people need to understand is that through management of our forests we can prevent fires,” Bush said before taking up a long saw and cutting off low-hanging limbs that could feed a fire.

By removing the low-hanging branches, the park hoped to prevent a devastating blaze that would destroy entire trees, said Dave Larsen, a ranger.

“It’s great to travel up on the trail and see the wise public policy being deployed here – public policy to make sure that we reduce the hazards of forest fires, (and) smart management of our lands, wise, commonsense approach to how we thin out our forests to prevent the hazards of forest fire,” Bush said in a speech to about 300 people.

Bush joined about a dozen young people from a nearby YMCA camp in the effort.

“We need to teach our children good lessons of character, and there’s no better place to do this,” Bush said.

Bush praised a plan by the Western Governors’ Association to prevent and suppress wildfires by removing brush, trees and debris that can fuel fires, calling it “sound, smart environmental policy.”

Bush’s visit to the park was the first by a president in nearly 70 years.

At 9,000 feet, Bush helped the youths and the park staff rebuild a trail with an eye to preventing erosion. He hoisted logs into precut ruts meant to channel water off the trail.

The work was reminiscent of trail-building that Bush has been undertaking at his ranch. “I was just doing one of these on my place the other day,” he said, as he filled in the rut with rocks. As he did so, he was encircled on one side by an entourage of aides and reporters; behind him were the towering peaks of the Rockies, dotted with glaciers.

Denver baseball fans were expecting the president to join them after the political dinner to watch the Colorado Rockies play the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field.

In New Mexico today, Bush was to attend a back-to-school event at an Albuquerque classroom, open a new job opportunity training facility and speak at a fund-raiser for Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.