Lesson 8 Page 4
Completion requirements
Managing Forest Fires
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Contrary to past beliefs, scientists now suggest small controlled forest fires could benefit the ecosystem.
When the Spanish arrived in California in 1769, they saw meadows, hazel groves, and burned earth. This was because the Quiroste tribe carefully managed the landscape by burning land so it would better produce seed.
The Spanish did not allow small fires, but grazed cattle. Cattle kept the land cropped to grasslands rather than allowing forests to grow.
The land changed dramatically when it became state park land under the slogan "take nothing but photos, and leave nothing but footprints."
"It is a nice idea", say modern scientists, "but it does not work in reality." Trees that go unmanaged on public lands without a removal of dead undergrowth are prone to large unmangeable wildfires.
In 2016, there were 7,000 fires in California. In 2017, 36 people died, towns were evacuated, many people were left homeless, horses were burned, and wild animals died.
BC and Alberta face the same problems as California. In 2017, there were about 230 wildfires in BC, some threatening towns like 100 Mile House, Moore Mountain, Williams Lake, Ashcroft, and Little Fort. In 2016, Fort McMurray city was evacuated. Perhaps the city would not have needed evacuation if forests had not been allowed to grow up to the city limits.
Frequent, low intensity fires may be set to protect the environment. This is why some native tribes were protected from large fires and modern citizens are not. Balance is the key to bringing a symbiotic (beneficial) relationship between humans and the environment
When the Spanish arrived in California in 1769, they saw meadows, hazel groves, and burned earth. This was because the Quiroste tribe carefully managed the landscape by burning land so it would better produce seed.
The Spanish did not allow small fires, but grazed cattle. Cattle kept the land cropped to grasslands rather than allowing forests to grow.
The land changed dramatically when it became state park land under the slogan "take nothing but photos, and leave nothing but footprints."
"It is a nice idea", say modern scientists, "but it does not work in reality." Trees that go unmanaged on public lands without a removal of dead undergrowth are prone to large unmangeable wildfires.
In 2016, there were 7,000 fires in California. In 2017, 36 people died, towns were evacuated, many people were left homeless, horses were burned, and wild animals died.
BC and Alberta face the same problems as California. In 2017, there were about 230 wildfires in BC, some threatening towns like 100 Mile House, Moore Mountain, Williams Lake, Ashcroft, and Little Fort. In 2016, Fort McMurray city was evacuated. Perhaps the city would not have needed evacuation if forests had not been allowed to grow up to the city limits.
Frequent, low intensity fires may be set to protect the environment. This is why some native tribes were protected from large fires and modern citizens are not. Balance is the key to bringing a symbiotic (beneficial) relationship between humans and the environment
Pixabay
These fires are set on purpose and supervised by
professionals.