Fire, Forests, and Fellowship
Guest post by Clemson Summer Program student Caroline Richards -
As an engineering major, I came into this portion of our course with very little knowledge of the life cycle of wildfires and forests. Most of my understanding stemmed from the previous semester, where we got a brief overview of the fire cycle and the properties of fire. I came into this session with a rather negative view of fire, owed to a few summers I spent around the son of a local firefighter who thought gory and violent stories were the way to make a positive impression.
Although I’ve only spent a few days immersed in both fire-burned and fire-thirsty timber stands, I’ve noticed a huge change in my perception of fire and its role in the sustainability of our ecosystem. We spent a large chunk of this section collecting data from different forest treatments: Unthinned/Unburned, Thinned/Unburned, Unthinned/Burned, and Thin/Burned. Observing these plots allowed us to witness firsthand the range of biodiversity and richness within a sample. It’s amazing to see what one change in management can do to an area. These long days in the sun taught me my first lesson about forest management: the forest will find a way to survive. When left undisturbed, it will sustain itself. During an introductory hike around the gorgeous ranch property, I saw a ponderosa pine that had decided to grow straight through a crack in the sandstone rock beside it, contorting itself along the way (pictured below). This tree beautifully faced the wilderness’ biggest task of “find a way or die” and even appears to use the surrounding sandstone as a brace.
We were also lucky enough to meet with three state forest/wildfire management agents. They gave us a wonderful tour around the area and explained many different elements of forest and wildfire management. One of my first takeaways from their visit came when they explained that most of their wildfires are caused by anthropogenic activity, meaning they originated from humans. In an unofficial comment, one of our guests said that there might be some local folks who purposefully start fires in an attempt to keep newcomers out of the area. This taught me my second lesson about forest management and forest sustainability: humans will interfere.
When asked about how the forest is currently managed, Noah, the region’s forest action planner, expressed a strong desire to implement prescribed burn programs in the area. He explained that many residents are wary of purposefully introducing fire to an area that has been previously devastated by the phenomenon. The current phase of the project is relationship building, something I hope our research can contribute to. If we can show landowners that there are benefits from controlled fires and thinning, they may be more willing to engage in conversations with state agents and researchers. From my short time out here, I can see that these benefits can range from increased forage availability for livestock to increased game species activity, proving that there could be benefits for everyone. One classmate explained our role as researchers very well; we are to “spark curiosity” for the residents. Getting people interested in conversations with forest management professionals will positively influence the forest-human relationship.
After a day in the field, we debriefed one evening over delicious bunkhouse tacos and discussed our day’s experiences. Dr. Hagan, this section’s instructor, explained that one thing he noticed while traveling from site to site was that fire-burned areas still had plenty of down woody material, or fuel, on the ground. Initially, this sounded odd to me. Why would a wildfire cause timber debris to fall and then not engulf it as fuel? Dr. Hagan explained that a wildfire will knock down fuels through its ruin but will not consume them, instead leaving them for subsequent fires. In this way, fire sustains fire. It will provide for and ensure that, excluding human intervention, the next wildfire will be able to grow. This natural cycle draws me back to what the state wildfire agent mentioned about the source of most wildfires – humans. When left alone, fires in this area will naturally occur through powerful lightning strikes. The ever-expanding presence of humans expedites this process, yet the wildfire’s behavior remains largely unchanged. It still leaves fuel for its successor.
A classmate encouraged me to read an excerpt of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac when gathering my thoughts. I came across a very thoughtful line that demonstrates what I have witnessed across this prairie: “While the courts were writing one definition of goodness in the law books, fires were writing quite another one on the face of the land” (pg. 10). If I had to sum up this section into one phrase, that would be the one. Regardless of what humans decide the forest should and should not do, it will find a way to survive. This, in my opinion, is true sustainability. The foresthas displayed the resilience and adaptability needed to survive in the rugged Montana prairie for many, many years. We could all benefit from stopping to listen to and witness nature in action rather than pushing past her hard-learned lessons.
