We are fired up about burning for healthy forests!
Failed Policies
June 30th, 2011 Filed Under Blog
The failed policies of the past related to wildland fire cost the nation millions of dollars annually. In the early 1900 when the USFA was just beginning to take shape a policy decision was made to stop all wildland fire. Prior to that time “Indian burning” or “light burning” had been the practice for centuries. Fule loads in most areas were relatively light. When fires swept through forests they were of low intensity acting as an agent of renewal rather than an agent of distruction. In the 100+ years since that time fuel loads in many forests have accumulated to very unnatural conditions and to ecologically unsustainable levels.
A proactive policy would have continued the “light burning” and kept the fuels loads at much more sustainable levels. The re-active posture that the land management agencies find themselve in today is not only ecologically unsustainable, it is economically unsustainable. The bureauaracy of the wildland fire susppression community is deeply entrenched commanding hugh budgets and resulting in hugh discharges of smoke into the atmosphere. The cycle needs to be broken. Strong leadership will be required to stand up to the establishmnet and bring about policy change. Our forests and society need more fire on the ground during manageable weather conditions to minimize the impact of large scale conflagration during periods of drastic fire conditions.
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