Every year, catastrophic wildfires in the dry forests of our western states destroy hundreds of thousands of acres of wilderness and cause millions of dollars of property damage. And while various solutions have been proposed, now comes a new study by the U.S. Forest Service advocating a thinning out of our forests to protect our wilderness areas. According to the government report, simply thinning overgrown forests to a natural rate of between 50 and 100 trees per acre would reduce both the number and severity of intense wildfires. And since thinning can also create jobs and help local economies, the study’s win-win recommendation appears to be barking up the right tree!