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**last update (2009 March)

         Originally, most Ponderosa Pine and mixed-conifer forests of the Intermountain West were open and park-like, with large, majestic trees underlain by dense grass swards. These low- and mid-elevation forests were shaped by millennia of recurrent forest fire, which helped maintain the forests' ecological integrity by reducing tree densities, controlling forest pests, and releasing a steady supply of nutrients into the soil. Many of the wildlife species in these and Western forests evolved with fire-retum intervals as short as 7-30 years and are dependent on the conditions created by fire for regenemtion, rapid growth, food, and shelter.
         Due to nearly a century of active fire prevention, fire-fighting, and livestock grazing, which eliminates the fine fuels necessary to carry low-intensity surface fires, ever greater numbers of tree seedlings and saplings have survived to maturity. Forests that were once open and park-like due to periodic thinning by low-intensity ground fire now develop into dense thickets. During dry seasons and prolonged drought, these trees become stressed, limbs fall to the ground, and trees die. Consequently, dead woody debris accumulates and forests become increasingly prone to intense fire. Without periodic fire to reduce this fuel load and limit tree numbers, species composition of the forests changes from dominance by fire-tolerant, sunlight-loving species such as Ponderosa Pine and Western Larch, to dominance by fire-sensitive, shade-tolerant species such as Douglas-fir and true firs. These changes, in combination with selective logging of large, fire-tolerant trees, have created conditions in which many of the original park-like forests have been converted into dense, fire-prone, and increasingly disease- and insect-prone stands.
           Nevertheless, many forests in the region have not been significantly affected by recent changes in the fire regime. Riparian forests and wetter forests on north-facing slopes and at higher elevations traditionally experienced fewer fires. And forest types such as high-elevation Lodgepole Pine and Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir have always developed into dense flammable forests, which were periodically consumed by stand-replacing fires.
            Because of drought, selective logging, high tree densities, high fuel loads, and the loss of a mosaic of burned and un-burned forest stands, low-elevation forests and those on south-facing slopes are now more vulnerable to destructive fire, insects, and disease than they were formerly The Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) advocates that land managers initiate measures that mimic Nature in reducing fuel loads, so as to return forests to their pre-EuroAmerican-settlement densities and fire regimes. These activities include prescribed burning, thinning of small fire-sensitive trees, removal of livestock, a let-bum policy in some areas, and less destructive fire-fighting techniques. Salvage logging, as currently practiced, should be prohibited since it damages already disturbed soils, watersheds, and wildlife habitat. Despite pronouncements by the timber industry, commercial thinning and post-fire logging may not reduce the frequency of fire. In fact, these activities often increase the intensity and rate of spread of fire because of increased fuel loads from logging debris left on the ground. Consequently, salvage logging is incompatible with ecosystem-based management.

PRESCRIBED FIRE

        The long-range goal of fire management policy should be to restore forest types, fire cycles, and habitat mosaics to those found before EuroAmerican settlement. For some areas, this is best achieved by manually igniting fires, which thin the understory and remove excess fuels.

*A region-wide, long-term plan for restoring Intermountain West forests needs to be developed. The plan should include a 30-year schedule of prescribed fire to reduce fuels, as well as district-by-district maps delineating areas targeted for a let-bum policy, fire prevention, or fire suppression.
* Priority for prescribed burning should be given to forests near developed areas (the urban/wildland interface), low-elevation or south-facing forests most transformed by past fire suppression, and areas with unnaturally high fuel loads.
* Where absolutely necessary to reduce ladder fuels that carry fire into canopies, small non-commercial trees may be thinned, lower limbs pruned, and litter raked away from large tree trunks and snags.

FIRE PREVENTION

        Fire prevention should not be a goal of forest management in the Intermountain West except when human life and extraordinary ecological values are at stake. Since fire is an inevitable and ecologically essential component of forest ecosystems, managers should focus on restoring historical fire regimes.

* Artificial fire breaks should be constructed only where proven effective, and not at all in wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, roadless regions, municipal watersheds, or ecologically sensitive areas.
* Livestock grazing should be eliminated from public forests and wild ungulates maintained within their year-round carrying capacities so that dry grasses can once again fuel low-intensity surfare fires.
* Private property owners should be required to take measures to "fire proof" 'their property by clearing flammable vegetation, adding fire-resistant roofs and shutters, and taking other reasonable precautions. By choosing to live in or adjacent to wildlands, homeowners must assume the risk of protecting or replacing their property rather than relying on taxpayers through public funding of fire-fighting agencies.

FIRE SUPPRESSION

          Fire suppression activities should be conducted only when absolutely necessary and with utmost care for the longterm integrity of the ecosystem. Low-impact fire-fighting techniques should be used.

* Fire suppression should be conducted only where human life, developed property, or irreplaceable ecological values (e.g. rare forest types or a major portion of the population of an endangered species) are at stake, or in areas that should be protected until prescribed burning can reduce excess fuels.
* Fire suppression should not be allowed in wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, or roadless regions, unless these areas have irreplaceable natural values and are scheduled for prescribed burning.
* Fires should not be actively fought where nearby natural fire barriers such as bodies of water or rocky ridges are likely to extinguish the fire.
* Due to the risk of de-watering, surface water should not be taken from small streams and lakes for fire suppression. Fire-fighting retardants and foams, which are toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms, should never be used near streams.
* Bulldozing and other forms of disturbance should be prohibited in stream channels, riparian areas, wetlands, and on sensitive soils and steep slopes.
* As much funding should be available for restoring natural forest ecosystems as for fire suppression.

POST-FIRE ACTIVITIES

           "Restoration" activities such as salvage logging, grass seeding, bulldozing, and stream clearing may be as damaging to forests as fire suppression and should be prohibited unless proven effective and beneficial.
            Note: Municipal watersheds should be evaluated for non-commercial thinning, prescribed fire, and fire suppression on an individual basis. These activities are appropriate for some, but not all, watersheds.

Joy Belsky is the staff ecologist at Oregon Natural Resources Council (5825 North Greely, Portland, OR 97217 USA).

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