[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 RANGER IN TUSKEGEE NATIONAL FOREST LOVED GIVING NATURE A HELPING HAND

                                 ______


                           HON. GLEN BROWDER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 10, 1994

  Mr. BROWDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the memory 
of Bedford Cash, the district ranger in the Tuskegee National Forest, 
who collapsed and died recently while working in the forest he loved so 
well.
  Mr. Cash was 42 when he died February 26 and had worked half of his 
life for the Forest Service--21 years. He started his career in 1971 
while attending school at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA. Upon 
graduating in 1974 with a degree in agronomy, he began working on 
Kisatchie National Forest.
  In 1976, he transferred to Ozark St. Francis National Forest in 
Arkansas. While in Arkansas, he met and married his wife, Jocelyn.
  During the 1980's, Mr. Cash worked in the Targhee National Forest in 
Idaho and in the Cleveland National Forest in Ohio.
  In 1989, Mr. Cash began working in the Tuskegee National Forest, 
where he was the district ranger. He was supervising a controlled burn 
in the forest at the time of his untimely death.
  John Yancy, supervisor of the National Forests in Alabama, described 
Mr. Cash as an ``energetic employee who epitomized the mission of the 
Forest Service to provide excellence in public service.''
  My deepest sympathy goes to Mr. Cash's wife and his three sons, Bill, 
Chad, and Bedford. They live in Montgomery.
  I would like to share with my colleagues an article by Jason Sanford, 
assistant editor of The Tuskegee News, that describes the work Mr. Cash 
was doing at the time of his death.

                 [From the Tuskegee News, Mar. 3, 1994]

              Forest Ranger Loves Helping Nature With Fire

                           (By Jason Sanford)

       (This article is dedicated to the memory of Bedford Cash.)
       The fire has already passed on through the forest but the 
     smoke still hangs near the tree tops, giving the sunlight a 
     weak orange tint. Walking through this desolate scene, 
     Bedford Cash suddenly stops, and kicks at the ash on the 
     ground.
       ``This was a good burn,'' he says, pointing to the exposed 
     dirt.
       ``See how the fire went through quickly. It burned off the 
     undergrowth and the litter, but didn't hurt the soil.''
       As district ranger at Tuskegee National Forest, Cash 
     oversees the controlled burning that the U.S. Forest Service 
     does every winter in his forest.
       On this Saturday, the forest rangers have been doing burns 
     since early morning. Still wearing their protective clothing, 
     Cash and his crew are now preparing for the next fire.
       ``There are two main reasons why we do controlled burns,'' 
     Cash says.
       ``One is for rough reduction, which is to eliminate the 
     undergrowth in case of wildfire.
       ``The other is to replace the natural cycle that used to 
     exist in this region.''
       As Cash explains, fires used to occur with regularity in 
     Alabama pine forests. This was the mechanism for keeping the 
     forest fertile, enabling more succulent growth to come up for 
     the wildlife to feed on.
       However, because of human intervention, the fires are now 
     rare. This hurts trees like the long leaf pine.
       ``The long leaf pines need for the litter of pine straw on 
     the ground to be burned off before their seeds will start 
     growing,'' Cash says.
       It is around a recently planted long leaf pine plot that 
     the rangers are preparing to do their next burn.
       By prescription, Cash means the wind speed, humidity, 
     temperature, and various other weather conditions. At the 
     moment, the conditions are ideal. However, everyone is 
     keeping an eye on the weather, in case it changes.
       There are four other people out today with Cash. Both Jeff 
     Seefeldt, the assistant district ranger, and Charles Reese, 
     the fire management officer, have done plenty of burns 
     before.
       However, for Chris Oberholster, these are among his first 
     fires. He is learning how to do controlled burns for the 
     Alabama Natural Heritage Program, and has been assisting the 
     rangers all day.
       The Forest service has also contracted to have a bulldozer 
     on hand, with its operator creating fire breaks to box in the 
     flames.
       As time for the burn approaches, everyone checks their fire 
     retardant clothing. They also put on their fire proof gloves.
       Then the drip-torches are inspected. The torches contain a 
     mixture of diesel and gasoline, which when lit allows a 
     steady stream of fire to be placed on the ground.
       Everything is ready, and the group sets out into the 
     forest.
       For this burn, Cash splits his people into two groups. He 
     and Oberholster take one side of the pine plot, while 
     everybody else goes to the other side.
       Placing Oberholster near the first fire break around the 
     plot, Cash moves himself to a parallel point one hundred feet 
     away. By doing this, the men hope to create two lines of 
     fire.
       ``Fire feeds on fire,'' Cash says as he readies his drip-
     torch.
       ``By creating two or three fire lines, we reduce the 
     ability of the fire to grow too large.''
       Walking in parallel lines, the men begin dropping fire from 
     their torches. In the dry pine straw, the flames quickly 
     build.
       For the men, the smoke is the biggest hazard. However, they 
     also keep a close watch on the progress of the fire, to make 
     sure the situation doesn't turn dangerous.
       ``We have to be real careful not to box in each other with 
     the flames,'' Oberholster says.
       In thirty minutes it is over. The flames quickly burn 
     themselves out, consuming all of the undergrowth and litter 
     in the designated area. Because this happens so fast, the 
     trees are not harmed.
       Satisfied with the progress they have made, Cash and his 
     crew group up again. There are more areas to go burn.
       When asked if he enjoys doing the burns, Cash smiles, and 
     nods his head.
       ``I enjoy being out in nature and helping the forest, which 
     is what this does,'' he says as the smoke climbs above him.

                          ____________________