First, Put Out The Fire!

WRITER JAMES D. PETERSEN’S GRIPPING STORY DRAWS ON HIS 34 YEARS AS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE EVERGREEN FOUNDATION, A WIDELY RESPECTED FORESTRY NON-PROFIT THAT HAS BEEN ON THE FRONT LINES IN THE FEDERAL WILDFIRE/FORESTRY DEBATE SINCE 1986.

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Autographed copies of the book can be purchased via the PayPal button below for $31.99 (including shipping and handling). Book purchases of five (5) or more copies will receive a free print of "Enlightened Forest” from acclaimed artist Ken Brauner – which can also be purchased individually for $100. Additional charges will apply for shipping outside the United States.

“First, Put Out the Fire!” traces the social, cultural, historic, economic, environmental and regulatory roots of the wildfire pandemic that is sweeping through western national forests.

Writer James D. Petersen’s gripping story draws on his 34 years as the driving force behind the Evergreen Foundation, a widely respected forestry non-profit that has been on the front lines in the federal wildfire/forestry debate since 1986.

“We have only two choices,” Petersen said in a recent interview. “We can stand by while nature burns our federal forest heritage to the ground or we can roll up our sleeves and get to work…

We have the knowledge and skill sets necessary to reduce the size, frequency and destructive power of these devastating wildfires but we lack the political will to act on meaningful ecological scales. We are literally burning our future to the ground.”

Petersen’s book is well researched and includes the unprecedented use of QR codes that lead to hundreds of publicly-funded websites brimming with reports that explain and quantify the unprecedented damage that wildfires are doing in the 11 western states.

*Ken Brauner and Evergreen’s Enlightened Forest*

“First, Put Out the Fire!” spans 238 pages and includes more than 100 photographs from Petersen’s collection, plus maps, charts and bar graphs that amplify his often gripping narrative. Reviewer, Michael Rains, a U.S. Forest Service retiree wrote, “Those who read First, Put Out the Fire will not look at America’s trees and forests the same way ever again. I loved reading this book. I know you will, too.”