Search WizardBrowse1451 records as of 11/23/2009
"Each year the the fires rip indifferently through the public wildlands and gnaw into towns, each year critics hurl slogans about who to blame...One polarity would have us try to abolish fire; the other, to remove ourselves from its ecological presence...Amid the shouting and roar, a central fact remains. Fire isn't listening..."
(Tending Fire: Coping with America's Wildland Fires by Stephen J. Pyne, 2004, pg. xiv).
Fire occurred with variable frequency in most western range vegetation types prior to European settlement. Its benefits included the release of grasses from competition with fire-sensitive shrubs, increased nutrient cycling, and the control of pathogens. However, as more people and their livestock settled on these lands, the frequency of fire diminished due to the need to protect human structures, decreased fuel loads, and suppression policies. In other areas such as Great Basin sagebrush grasslands, the spread of exotic annual grasses led to increases in fire frequency. In both instances the composition of the vegetation was altered (Riggs et al. 1996, Pyne et al. 1996).
As appreciation of the important ecological role played by fire has increased, so has the debate over how to respond to wildfire and when to use prescribed fire as a management tool. Some fear that fire has become a panacea, and risks being applied indiscriminately. Others point to the successful achievement of management goals when prescriptions are right. For certain, more people are living on and adjacent to highly flammable range and forest lands creating formidable challenges for fire management. Some fires given current fuel loads are beyond our control. How will we respond to fire? Here are links to basic fire concepts, information about fire management, and highlights of some of the burning issues related to fire on Western Rangelands.
Pyne, S.J., P.L. Andrews, and R.D. Laven. 1996. Introduction to Wildland Fire, 2nd Ed. Wiley Publishers, New York, NY.
Pyne, S.J. 1997. World Fire: The Culture of Fire on Earth. The University of Washington Press., Seattle, WA.
Pyne, S.J. 2004. Tending Fire: Coping with America's Wildland Fires. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Riggs, R.A., S.C. Bunting and S.E. Daniels. 1996. Prescribed Fire, p.295-319. In: P.R. Krausman (ed.), Rangeland Wildlife. Society for Range Management, Denver, CO.
Vallentine, J. F. 1989. Range Improvements, 3rd. Ed. Academic Press, San Diego, CA. pgs. 168-214 (Chapter 6, Range Improvement by Burning).
Wright, H.A.and A.W. Bailey. 1982. Fire Ecology: United States and Southern Canada. Wiley Publishers, New York, NY.
Fire in the West: A High Country News Special Report. Available at http://www.hcn.org/specialcollections/fireinthewest.jsp
Hot Topics: Fire
The Basics of Fire and Fire Terminology
Who is Involved in Fire Management and Policy Making?
Rangeland Fire Ecology
