Stehekin, Wash., USA - June 16 2024: Wildfire in North Central Washington. Pioneer fire in the Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness
burn in certain wilderness areas. As this “let-burn” policy developed, it in- cluded land restoration efforts, for- est thinning practices, fuel mitigation clearing, and prescribed burning to manage the risks of wildfires and pro - mote healthier forests. >> Prescribed Burning There are a few urban hiking ar- eas in Coeur d’Alene, where I live, the most popular being Tubbs Hill in the center of downtown. I walk the Tubbs trails a lot, and this past summer, the Parks Department mobilized a major wildfire fuel mitigation project fund - ed by a federal grant, the city of Coeur d’Alene, and the Tubbs Hill Founda- tion. The Hill has been pretty fortu- nate when it comes to wildfire. The last major brush fire occurred in June of 2015, burned about five acres, evac - uated hundreds of people from the park and area, and called in helicop- ters to drop water on the fire. Over the past decade, the city has patrolled the hill and park more frequently, cleaned up the trails, created better signage, organized trash pick up, and now implemented a fuel mitigation
clear out in the woods. Tramping the trails in the late summer and fall – the time I was writing this – I noticed not only more openness and cleanli- ness, but also many slash piles among the trees built up as pyres. At the time of writing this, the city had planned a prescribed burn in No- vember 2025 to dispose of these piles, weather permitting. “Prescribed fire is the controlled application of fire by a team of experts to restore the health of a forest or grassland eco- system.” (nationalforests.org) Indig- enous tribes commonly managed the health of their lands with simi- lar controlled fires, and still do so to - day. These types of fires are meant to mimic low to moderate-intensity natural wildfires in a controlled area for the health of the forest and proxi- mate communities. >> Private Forest Stewardship and Action Over two million forested acres in Idaho are privately owned by fami- lies and other landowners. Through education, timber harvesting, re-
source management, fuel mitigation and other practices, private land- owners can play a pivotal role in keeping U.S. forests thriving while also leaving a healthy, productive legacy for future generations. The University of Idaho Extension has a wonderful Forestry department that offers programs on everything from Forest Ecology and Forest Manage- ment to Forest Estate and Manage- ment Planning. Discover a wealth of information for yourself at uidaho. edu/extension/natural-resources/for- estry. If you’re not a forest landowner, remember to pay attention to burn bans and restrictions, heed the fire risk signage from Smokey Bear at the trailhead, and always double check your campfire before packing out. To find out what fire restrictions are in place in Idaho at any given time, go to idl.idaho.gov/fire-man - agement/fire-restrictions-finder/. N
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