The accompanying data were read from graphs that appeared in the article Bush Timber Proposal Runs Counter to the Record (San Luis Obispo Tribune, September

The accompanying data were read from graphs that appeared in the article €œBush Timber Proposal Runs Counter to the Record€ (San Luis Obispo Tribune, September 22, 2002). The variables shown are the number of acres burned in forest fires in the western United States and timber sales.

a. Is there a correlation between timber sales and acres burned in forest fires? Compute and interpret the value of the correlation coefficient.
b. The article concludes that €œheavier logging led to large forest fires.€ Do you think this conclusion is justified based on the given data? Explain.

Number of Acres Bumed (thousands) Timber Sales (billions of board feet) Year 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 200 250 260 380 80 450 180 240 440 400 180 9 2.0 3.7 4.4 6.8 9.7 11.0 11.0 10.2 10.0 11.0 3.8 9