Indian burning
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Severe deforestation on the Wallowa Whiteman National Forest, Oregon justified by fire scar reconstructions. Photo George Wuerthner One of the biggest problems, and also a source of disagreements in wildfire discussions, stems from the use of different temporal and spatial scales. What may seem like excessive wildfire under one set of temporal and spatial assumptions…
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The media and many others, including conservation groups, suggest the cause of today’s wildfires is the result of fire suppression. They point to the cessation of Native American cultural burning as a primary reason for larger blazes. This has led to expensive and often ecologically destructive forest management policies. A Charles M. Russell painting showing…
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One commonly asserted myth is that frequent burning can substantially reduce the area burned by wildfire across the landscape. Photo George Wuerthner Poorly informed journalists flood the public with misinformation about wildfire ecology. The common theme insinuates that we can and should manage nature. I am sympathetic to the plight of journalists who are overworked…
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Ponderosa pine in New Mexico Blue Range Wilderness. Photo George Wuerthner A new paper, Indigenous fire management and cross-scale fire climate relationships in the Southwest United States from 1500 to 1900 CE, was recently published. Based on solid scientific research, it makes the important point that indigenous fire management was local rather than landscape or…
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Giant sequoia in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park. Photo George Wuerthner I visited Yosemite National Park recently. I was dismayed to see the logging of large trees in the valley. According to the Park Superintendent, the justification for logging is “to use every tool at our disposal to save the forests and to save the…
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Prescribed burns are perceived to be a panacea for reducing wildfire, but there are many problems with implementation. George Wuerthner Many people in New Mexico are calling for an investigation of the practice of prescribed burning in light of the recent immense Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak wildfires that began as prescribed burns. The combined…
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Prescribed fire and cultural burning by Native Americans is often promoted as a means of reducing large blazes across the West. There are many reasons to question such assumptions. Photo George Wuerthner Here are seven articles (attached below) from today’s news cycle. They promote the idea that our forests need to be “gardened” by human…
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Prescribed burning is often seen as a way to reduce to the large climate-driven blazes now occurring across the West, however, there are many problems that proponents fail to acknowledge. Photo George Wuerthner It seems everyone is grasping for some “solution” to big fires. And one of the common assertions is that more prescribed burning…