Washington Hunter
Well-known member
Found another good article on The Nature Conservancy web site:
Coeur d’Alene, ID ¾ June 19, 2002 ¾ The use of fire as a management tool is undoubtedly one of the most important developments in the history of humanity. In many cultures, fire was respected and even revered, its dangerous yet life-giving properties recognized for the power it held over human culture.
Recent fire history, though, has often been about preventing, suppressing, controlling and even stopping it. Smokey Bear and Bambi reinforce the idea, beginning with children at an early age, that fire is a menace that must be stopped at all costs. Millions and millions of dollars per year are spent trying to stop wildfires.
And still, the fires burn on.
In fact, despite all the control efforts, fire frequency has not decreased. In 2000, some 90,000 nationwide fires burned 7.5 million acres. More than $1.6 billion was spent by taxpayers to fight these fires.
With another fire season upon us it is time to think carefully about our recent relationship with fire. Historically, in the low elevation dry forests of the west, fires burned low to the ground, clearing out the understory and allowing new growth to occur. Today, many of our forests are over crowded, with thousands of trees per acre where historically only hundreds used to grow. This condition has lead to the unnaturally intense fires we witnessed in the summer of 2000 – too much highly combustible fuel on the ground oad—which burns hot and uncontrollably. When fires burn this way, we not only lose the trees in the forests but also the diversity of plant and wildlife species that live there.
The Nature Conservancy, a conservation organization with the mission to conserve plant and animal diversity, recognizes the value of restoring natural fire cycles. The Conservancy considers fire exclusion to be a key threat to plant and animal diversity in many of its conservation areas. However, the Conservancy also realizes that fire management requires the best available science and approaches tailored for specific geographic areas.
Not all wildfires are created equal. In many areas of northern Idaho, the fire cycles have been suppressed for so long that a fire there today would burn intensely hot, negating the beneficial effects to the forest. In southern Idaho, the sagebrush steppe—infested with cheatgrass—actually burns too frequently. The fire frequency in that area does not allow the return of vegetation, resulting in the loss of habitat for sage grouse, mule deer and pronghorns.
Across the West, people are building their homes close to and sometimes within the forest boundary. This “urban-wildland interface” creates an extremely complex fire management challenge. Unhealthy forests – those at risk to wildfire – pose a serious threat to these nearby communities. If these areas are not managed the question is not if they will burn out of control, but when.
Obviously, a “one size fits all” approach to fire management is not appropriate or desirable.
The Conservancy, working with state and federal agencies and communities, uses science and caution to approach fire issues. Whatever the approach, the goal is the same: restoring fire to forests, where appropriate, and ensuring that the forests of the Wests are healthy after the next fires passes.
This may require people to think differently about the role fire should play on the landscape. These forests evolved with fire and are dependent on it. But in the absence of letting fire play its natural role, something else must be done to ensure the forests of today will be alive and growing tomorrow. The philosophy of stopping fires—all fires—at any cost is not a productive strategy. Instead, responsible forest management, which includes thining and the careful use of prescribed fire, can help restore forest health and enhance native plant and wildlife populations.
Coeur d’Alene, ID ¾ June 19, 2002 ¾ The use of fire as a management tool is undoubtedly one of the most important developments in the history of humanity. In many cultures, fire was respected and even revered, its dangerous yet life-giving properties recognized for the power it held over human culture.
Recent fire history, though, has often been about preventing, suppressing, controlling and even stopping it. Smokey Bear and Bambi reinforce the idea, beginning with children at an early age, that fire is a menace that must be stopped at all costs. Millions and millions of dollars per year are spent trying to stop wildfires.
And still, the fires burn on.
In fact, despite all the control efforts, fire frequency has not decreased. In 2000, some 90,000 nationwide fires burned 7.5 million acres. More than $1.6 billion was spent by taxpayers to fight these fires.
With another fire season upon us it is time to think carefully about our recent relationship with fire. Historically, in the low elevation dry forests of the west, fires burned low to the ground, clearing out the understory and allowing new growth to occur. Today, many of our forests are over crowded, with thousands of trees per acre where historically only hundreds used to grow. This condition has lead to the unnaturally intense fires we witnessed in the summer of 2000 – too much highly combustible fuel on the ground oad—which burns hot and uncontrollably. When fires burn this way, we not only lose the trees in the forests but also the diversity of plant and wildlife species that live there.
The Nature Conservancy, a conservation organization with the mission to conserve plant and animal diversity, recognizes the value of restoring natural fire cycles. The Conservancy considers fire exclusion to be a key threat to plant and animal diversity in many of its conservation areas. However, the Conservancy also realizes that fire management requires the best available science and approaches tailored for specific geographic areas.
Not all wildfires are created equal. In many areas of northern Idaho, the fire cycles have been suppressed for so long that a fire there today would burn intensely hot, negating the beneficial effects to the forest. In southern Idaho, the sagebrush steppe—infested with cheatgrass—actually burns too frequently. The fire frequency in that area does not allow the return of vegetation, resulting in the loss of habitat for sage grouse, mule deer and pronghorns.
Across the West, people are building their homes close to and sometimes within the forest boundary. This “urban-wildland interface” creates an extremely complex fire management challenge. Unhealthy forests – those at risk to wildfire – pose a serious threat to these nearby communities. If these areas are not managed the question is not if they will burn out of control, but when.
Obviously, a “one size fits all” approach to fire management is not appropriate or desirable.
The Conservancy, working with state and federal agencies and communities, uses science and caution to approach fire issues. Whatever the approach, the goal is the same: restoring fire to forests, where appropriate, and ensuring that the forests of the Wests are healthy after the next fires passes.
This may require people to think differently about the role fire should play on the landscape. These forests evolved with fire and are dependent on it. But in the absence of letting fire play its natural role, something else must be done to ensure the forests of today will be alive and growing tomorrow. The philosophy of stopping fires—all fires—at any cost is not a productive strategy. Instead, responsible forest management, which includes thining and the careful use of prescribed fire, can help restore forest health and enhance native plant and wildlife populations.
