Must have hit a nerve !
WOW, I never realized that my opinion would cause such a fuss. But let me set some of your "facts" straight. Having been born and raised in the Pine Barrens, and considered a true "Piney", I believe that I have quite an insight into the eco system of the pine barrens from ACTUAL FIRST HAND knowledge, and NOT from something I read in a book by some self proclaimed author, or second hand information I heard from this one or that. Much of what I learned was from many years listening to those who went before me, hunting, fishing, and most important of all......Fighting many wildland fires, and doing thousands of acres of prescribed burning.
Reading some of the replies to my earlier post made me chuckle to say the least. It must be so easy to be an armchair quarterback and whine and complain about the pines. Guess what, they have been there for thousands of years, and will be there long after we are all gone. Contrary to anyone's opinion, these newly plowed roads will regrow without any further attention given them, however, they were put in to be used as a safety barrier however small they are. DISAGREE ????? go onto the NJ FIREWISE site and read the protective distances recommended for safety zones around your homes in the wilderness.....1 1/2-2 times the height of the tallest trees near your home. Certainly ALOT wider than the roads and plow lines used to control wild land fires or prescribed burns.
You snicker when these roads are cleared, but are the first to whine and complain should something happen to your precious home. A PRIME example of this was in the trailer park in Brighton of Barnegat. where one home was lost, and a second very badly damaged. For over 15 years, the citizens there were told that there should be at least a 100 foot safety zone around the perimeter of the park. Needless to say, these homes were ONLY 11 FEET from the woodline. I personally saw many of the Forest Fire trucks, and the volunteers do EVERYTHING possible to save those 2 dwellings to the point where several of the trucks came out with melted paint, drooping plastic, and very worn out Firefighters. And guess what? The first thing to come out of some of the peoples mouths.......The Forest Fire Service did nothing to help.......that, my friends, is pure horse hockey !!!!!!
Every year, certain blocks of woodlands are chosen by their respective section wardens for possible burning. Their plans must then go to the respective Division office for approval. Many meetings are held to discuss which blocks should, or shouldn't, be done that particular year. Plans are studied, and gone over numerous times with the personnel selected to perform that task. People who have spent countless hours in the field, and in classrooms learning how to BEST preserve our Forests.
With that said, I reviewed the pictures that were posted at the beginning of this post. Normally most pieces are "flagged" with surveying tape, but as someone posted earlier, the paint used might have been better had it been "washable". While that is a good suggestion, many times there is considerable time lapses between when flagging or marking is done, and the actual plowing of firelines or roads. This does not happen haphazardly. Careful consideration is given to each situation, and what best serves the area which is to be burned. If a road is deemed necessary, then that was obviously the best answer for that area. No more nor less. So PLEASE stop trying to make it into something that it clearly is not.
And whoever posted about their oak trees dying......check into the Japanese boring beetles. They have killed hundreds of oaks around where I live.
I don't think it helps propagation since they are eating the seeds. Maybe if they relieve themselves afterwards. 
