Prescribed Fire
Smokey the Bear is still the voice of the Forest Service’s fire management policy, but nowadays he carries a drip torch and likes to see flames in the woods. Has the pendulum swung too far? ForestWatch has been investigating what fire management is appropriate in North Georgia. One thing we’re now sure of: western fire management styles don’t fit here in our forests.
To Burn or not to Burn?
Fire is an important component of many ecosystems, especially in forests of the dry West. However, fire is not a major driving force in the ecology of North Georgia’s forests, in fact, fire is less of a factor here than in almost any other region of the country. Why? Because of the topography and very high average annual rainfall. Our moist forests and steep slopes don’t support the kind of widespread hot fires that have driven the Forest Service’s new “fuel reduction” prescribed burning policies.
ForestWatch advocates using prescribed burning only on appropriate sites. We believe that in North Georgia wildfire generally poses no significant threat of destruction to the forest or adjacent private property, and we oppose indiscriminate prescribed burning based on imposing western-style assumptions on our Southern Appalachian moist temperate forests. However, we do support site-specific burning to accomplish well-defined objectives, along with monitoring to verify and document the results.
Want more info?
The following newsletter articles show how our understanding of fire has evolved:
- Autumn 2004 “Fire Management in the Forest Plan”
- Spring 2005 “To Burn or not to Burn”
- Autumn 2005 “Human Fire Evidence in the Southern Appalachians”
- Winter 2005/06 “Role of Fire in the Southern Appalachian Mountains”
- Summer 2007 “Smokey’s Conundrum: Prescribing Fire on the Blue Ridge”
Fire is also a major factor in the Brawley Mountain Campaign
- Click here and scroll to page 18 to read the “Fire regimes” section of ForestWatch’s response to the Brawley Mountain proposal
- Click here to go to our Brawley Mountain Campaign webpage
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