The Benefits of Burns
Only you can prevent forest fires but should you! I’m Susan Allen this is Open Range where we take a closer look at life in our remarkable West. Wild Fires, those words strike terror in the hearts of western land owners but in our efforts to extinguish fires we are harming eco-systems. In one area of Eastern Washington currently under fire study, there are ten times more trees today than a hundred years ago about the time when men started putting out burns in this region, meaning the habitat has been totally altered through human intervention. Proponents of controlled periodic burns (and I might add there are more and more of them,) cite the fact that a wildfire is a necessary part of a healthy forest. Periodic forest fires reduce fuels meaning they clear underbrush and tinder from forest floors while leaving larger trees. Something we all detest, smoke, actually increases the germination of many plant species. Deer depend on ceanothus to survive harsh winters, but that little plant needs fire for their seeds to be released to germinate. Even ash and charcoal have purpose as they prevent certain noxious weeds and enhance water retention during droughts. You and I thin trees with clippers to make them more healthy, well the good Lord designed fire to do the trick. Trees that survive forest fires actually become more resistant to insect and diseases. After a burn the regrowth of shrubs feeds a host of critters and often opens up areas for big horn sheep and mountain goats. Despite the benefits of forest fires touted by forest consultants, most conservation groups won’t fund fire projects thus the quandary remains. Put it out or let it bu
