FIRE: UNDERSTANDING NATURE’S OLDEST MANAGEMENT TOOL
With wildfires raging throughout the western states at the time I’m writing this, “proactive forest management” is being brought to light as a way to combat the deadly and destructive large-scale wildfires that seem to have become all too frequent in recent years. Of all available management techniques, some outsiders or land management neophytes may find this one odd: “using fire to thwart fire.” The big difference is we are using “prescribed fire” to prevent “wildfire.” It is important to