The history of natural resource management in the United States has a long story that involves learning from mistakes, new ecological perspectives, and changes in how our nation’s public land should managed for longevity in the eyes of fire.
Fire has always played a role in the evolution of humans ranging from land clearing for agriculture to fuel for cooking. It was only in the late 19th century that we realized that something had to be done regarding management of our nation’s natural resources, and to protect these resources from threats such as wildfire. Early legislation like the Forest Reserve Act (1891) and the Organic Act (1897) were the first steps in advancing the need for resource management and protecting our lands by suppressing wildfires. Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot soon followed with some of the most important acts that really set precedence for contemporary fire management by forming the Forest Service with Pinchot as its first chief. They renamed the forest reserves as National Forests, and set out to fight the wildfires that posed the greatest “threat” to our nation’s public forests.
In the 1920s, the Chief of the Forest Service Henry Graves described American forestry as 80+% fire management and suppression. When thinking of this critically now knowing everything I do about contemporary forest management, I would say some people could say this is still how federal forest management is. However the role of private forestry around the country has increased in production greatly since the 1920s, so if I were to throw out a current percentage of American forestry that is dedicated to fire suppression, I would say around 50%. As our climate warms further and the severity and length of our fire seasons increase, this percentage could be back near 80% in the next 25 years. This may be a “hot take” but it is interesting how things come full circle in this way of forest management.
There are a wide variety of different views on the role of fire in the western forested landscape. As myself and many other natural resource professionals essentially agree, it is important for the health of our ecosystems to reintroduce fire on the landscape in some way. Proper forest management can minimize the way these contemporary mega fires occur, and we can manipulate and use these management tools to promote a resilient sustainable landscape that can be enjoyed for future generations. I say this with public lands in mind as private forestry actively manages their timber lands which greatly minimizes the risk of wildfire. I believe it is up to natural resource professionals to “change the narrative” to the public on what wildfire means to the landscape. Education, outreach, and collaboration are all ways to facilitate policy changes that can assist in restoring resilient forested ecosystems in the western US.
