Wildland Management Issue -- Fires

Wildland Management Issue -- Fires in Yellowstone National Park

Fires in Yellowstone National Park: Analysis of the Issue and Options

What options are available as manager?

Given the historical and ecological history of Yellowstone National Park, the forest manager has three options in regard to controlled wildfires. First, the forest manager could choose to suppress all fires. Generally, this was the practice undertaken in the national parks and forest since their inception until the 1960s. Prior to this time period, scientists and forest managers believed that all fires posed extreme safety and ecological danger to national forests. In fact, according to the National Forest Service's document on the evolution of Wildland Fire Management Policy, a policy was established in 1935 that required all fires to be contained by 10 a.m. after the day they were started. Large amounts of volunteer and non-volunteer manpower were contracted in terms of firefighters and fire spotters in order to prevent all fires.

Although these examples and others prove that the suppression option was wildly popular before the 1960s, it would not be a very viable option for forest managers today. In fact, in the early 1960s, a wealth of research proved the "positive benefits form natural and prescribed fire" ("Evolution" 1). Besides suppression, natural and prescribed fires are the two options available to Yellowstone's managers. Managers have the option of allowing natural fires to occur and managing the fires rather than suppressing them, in addition to using controlled burning in order to rid the forest floor of brush and other fodder that could start larger, more dangerous wildfires. These three basic options -- suppression, fire management involving allowing natural fires to burn, and controlled or prescribed burning involving fires set by professionals -- are available to forest managers in Yellowstone National Park. As per fire management plans of the past, fire managers have the option of using all of the methods in conjunction in order to control fires in Yellowstone National Park.

What can Yellowstone National Park do about this current issue -- fires in Yellowstone?

In 1988, the largest fire in the history of site burned in Yellowstone National Park. The fire was a combination of unseasonably dry weather and controlled and uncontrolled fires. Some believe the fire to be a combination of experimental fire management plans that were launched after the research of the 1960s that shed light on the benefits of small fires although only thirty-eight of the fifty fires that burned were actually controlled or prescribed fires ("Wildland Fire"). Though this evidence seems to suggest that the destruction caused by the fire was a result of wildfire, not fire management, the argument can still be made that the additional twelve fires were not suppressed because of relaxed suppression policies due to fire management.

The fire of 1988 has shaped fire management policy in Yellowstone National Park since its first flames. In order to address the current issue of fires in Yellowstone National Park, fire managers can implement a system that involves both prescribed and national burning in addition to a sophisticated band of surveyors that can determine when suppression is needed should any type of fire become out of control. Not only would this plan address the current issue of controlled burning in the park, but it would also address the causes of the 1988 fire, which has so influenced the history and fire management of the park.

What are the pros and cons of controlled burning in Yellowstone?

The pros and cons of controlled burning in Yellowstone National Park have the same consequences -- uncontrollable fire. The pros of controlled burning are twofold. First, studies have proven the positive effects of controlled burning with regards to fire management. As previously stated, controlled burns remove debris from the forest floor that can be considered fodder for larger fires. In addition, controlled and natural burning allow fires to ecologically impact the park. In recent decades, a variety of research has been completed concerning the benefits of the burns on ecology, and controlled burning is proven to, in most cases, allow for positive change within the ecosystem.

Part II Recommendation Analysis

Based on the above information, fires in Yellowstone National Park, whether controlled or otherwise, are an issue of grave importance to park personnel. In order to appropriately deal with the issue, Yellowstone National Park's management team must put into effect an option combining both controlled burning and suppression. This will allow for the best results in terms of safety and ecology in the park as well as preventing major disasters like the fire of 1988 from reoccurring.

By implementing limited controlled or prescribed burning, forest management would allow for the removal of ground fodder that makes large-scale fires like the fire of 1988 more likely. A great deal of scientific research and experience has gone into planning when and where to burn, and forest managers can make sure to set fires or allow fires to burn during the most optimal conditions instead of during the unusually dry weather or other suboptimal conditions that allow disastrous forest fires to start and rage. Additionally, the controlled burning will have positive effects that allow Yellowstone National Park to survive in its natural ecological glory for decades, as the controlled or prescribed burning will yield positive results for the ecological system.