Fire

I fought my first forest fire in 1976, fresh out of college. I put them out. In 1989 I learned to set them. Prescribed fire is the best tool for habitat management in a fire-evolved ecosystem, like in our nation’s conifer forests. In planned scenarios the use of low intensity fire is like mowing the lawn. Creeping flames burn up duff, dead grasses and leafy plants, and recycle nutrients back into the soil. Flames rarely damage the overstory. Within days new plants spring forth from the soil. Wildlife, particularly deer, can feast on the highly digestible and tender growth. If more places in the States used prescribed fire our forests would be far more productive for both plants and wildlife, and safer for people. Say NO to Arson.