Well said.

There's a researcher who in the 80's tried to tell the forest service all this, and they simply wouldn't listen.

There's even a news clip of him from the time.

I'll see if I can find it.

There's nothing to be gained by flooding land, it will not prevent future floods or reduce the size or veracity of them.

This is not entirely true, though the purpose is not the same as controlled burns. We intentionally (re)flood wetlands we've previously dried in order to restore wetland habitats.

Kind of like the fires, though, we learned the hard way that draining all the wetlands is bad, and they're actually very important features of nature.

There’s nothing to be gained by flooding land, it will not prevent future floods or reduce the size or strength of them.

This is incorrect. Controlled flooding is used to mitigate the risk and effect of floods. This is especially common in the Netherlands, where designated areas - "uiterwaarden" - are periodically flooded as needed. These areas are typically used as pasture or for recreation under normal conditions.

Controlled flooding gives a place for the water to go when there’s too much. For example I remember reading about dikes along the Mississippi for flood control, but when there was too much water it would flood less inhabited farmland before city areas

Wouldn't a dam be a form of "controlled flooding"?