Fireweed and Indian Paintbrush also survive and bloom quickly from un- derground stems. Yarrow and camas are edible plants that regrow quickly in a post-fire landscape. Fires also help reduce competition for natural resources, like water and soil nutrients. Reducing the compac- tion of trees and bushes can allow the soil to retain more moisture after a rain and increase the flow of nutri - ents to the remaining plants and new growth. This benefits the environ - mental cycle as well, allowing better flowing streams. >> Fire Suppression and “Let It Burn” Policy Large forest fires plagued the U.S. timber industry during the 1800s, and supplies and watersheds were at risk. In 1891, conservationists in- fluenced the federal government to set aside national forest reserva- tions, and in 1905 the U.S. Forest Service was established to manage these national forests. For five years, this seemed like a wise stewardship of the land. Then the Great Fire of 1910, also known as the “Big Blow- up” swept through Montana, Idaho and Washington consuming three million acres in just two days. One of the results was the implementation of policy with the goals of preventing fires and suppressing existing fires as quickly as possible. Ranger sta- tions, communication networks, look- out towers, fire roads, cooperative firefighting, the Civilian Conserva - tion Corps, smokejumpers, and even Smokey Bear all eventually became a part of the U.S. Forest Service’s ef- forts to prevent, suppress, and man- age wildfires. The benefits of fire in forest ecolo - gy became the focus of scientific re - search during the 1960s and 70s, and the Forest Service began to allow fires caused by natural phenomena to
E AND OUR FORESTS By S. MICHAL BENNETT
Wildfire is not just a headline— it’s a seasonal reality across the Inland Northwest, shaping our forests, our air, and the choices we make to protect them.
dreds of thousands of acres. Close to 90% of wildfires are started by hu - mans in some capacity, and causes include unattended campfires, fallen power lines and vehicle crashes. >> Fires and Forest Ecology Although wildfires negatively af - fect wildlife, human health, air qual- ity and water quality, periodic fires have been historically shown to play a vital ecological role in the health of land and forests. Fire is a natural force that creates opportunity for re- newal in forests and on prairies by clearing out underbrush, recycling nutrients like carbon and nitrogen back into the soil, and opening up habitats for a greater diversity of an-
imals, insects and plants. It also as- sists some plants, such as lodgepole pine and jack pine, in dispersing their seeds. These pinecones only open and release their seeds when exposed to the heat of a fire. Dense forest undergrowth can sup- press new growth, inhibit the re- production of flowering and fruiting plants, and encourage invasive spe- cies to thrive. When fire clears out undergrowth, more sunlight reach- es the forest floor, and new seedlings as well as plants that sprout from roots can then reach up towards the light. Huckleberries and blackber- ries thrive after a fire, growing back from their underground root systems.
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