Taking the Heat

National park and forest officials have taken a lot of heat, so to speak, over their management--or the lack of it--of fires that have swept across hundreds of thousands of acres of Western lands this summer. Some of the flap is justified in view of the drought conditions this year. In retrospect, it seems that to have let nature take its course in such volatile fire conditions was asking for trouble. Once the popular tourist centers were threatened and the public mood became inflamed, the managers had to struggle to control the fires, particularly in Yellowstone National Park.

The danger now is that federal officials may overreact to public controversy, or to pressure from Western members of Congress, and become too timid about following the wisdom of a long-range policy of permitting most natural fires to burn themselves out. One major reason that so many fires in Yellowstone burned out of control for so long this summer is the dry condition caused by the lack of moisture. But the fires never would have covered such vast amounts of acreage if it had not been for the massive amounts of fuel that collected in the forests over the years in which National Park Service policy was to extinguish every fire as quickly as possible.

Most of the complaints have come from a handful of landowners who have felt threatened by the raging fires and from business owners on the periphery of Yellowstone who have suffered economic losses because of the fall-off of tourism. But such complaints can fuel a Bambi syndrome among members of the public who see dramatic fire walls and smoke clouds on television news. They can envision helpless creatures of the forest fleeing the firestorms. They read of massive acreages “destroyed” without understanding that fire is a necessary cog in the life cycle of a healthy forest, or that not every tree in every acre has been scorched.

Yellowstone Supt. Robert Barbee says that fire is a stimulant that is as important to the ecosystem as are sunshine and rain. Without the clearing action of fire, dead timber builds up on the forest floor so that when fire finally does come it rages out of control. The accumulation of downed wood inhibits new growth by preventing plants from taking root in the soil. The heavy old growth, both on the forest floor and above, blocks out the sun-light that plants must have. Fire aids the spread of seeds, and the ash helps fertilize the infant plants. Most wildlife moves out of danger well in advance of the flames. And burned-over areas rapidly sprout anew into lush habitat for wild animals. Much of the Yellowstone area that was burned, in remote sections of the park, never would be seen by the average tourist.

This summer’s experience in Yellowstone Park might help the Park Service further refine its fire- management policy to account for extremely dry conditions and the volatility of public opinion-- even if the criticism comes from a very small public and is based to a great degree on misinformation or misunderstanding. But the Park Service should not be bullied into retreating from a scientifically sound policy that allows the forest to thrive over generations through periodic biological renewal and diversification.