Restoring Ecosystem Health in Frequent-Fire Forests of the American West - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 221

12
Restoring Ecosystem Health in Frequent-Fire
Forests of the American West*
William Wallace Covington
CONTENTS
12.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 223
12.2 Clear Thinking Is Essential .............................................................................................. 224
12.3 To Whom Should We Be Listening? ................................................................................ 224
12.4 What We Know and What It Means ............................................................................... 225
12.4.1 A Complex, but Understandable Problem.......................................................... 226
12.4.2 Ecological Restoration Represents a Solution .................................................... 226
12.4.3 Benefits and Challenges of Restoring Western Dry Forests ............................ 227
12.4.4 Acting Swiftly, but Prudently .............................................................................. 228
12.5 Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 228
References ..................................................................................................................................... 229
12.1 Introduction
We are at a fork in the road in the American West. Down one fork lies burned-out,
depauperate forest landscapes—landscapes that will be a liability for current and future
generations. Down the other fork lies healthy, diverse, sustaining forest landscapes—
landscapes that will bring multiple benefits for generations to come. Our present inaction
is taking us down the path to unhealthy forest landscapes that are costly to manage.
Scientifically based forest restoration treatments, including thinning and prescribed
burning, will set us on the path to healthy forested landscapes—landscapes like the early
settlers and explorers saw in the late 1800s.
Knowing what we now know, it would be grossly negligent for us not to move forward
with large-scale, restoration-based fuel treatments in the dry forests of the western
United States. Inaction is now the greatest threat to the long-term sustainability of these
ecosystems. It is time for ecologists, natural resource professionals, and others with
relevant expertise to bring coherent, objective facts, and informed recommendations to
the public and to national, regional, and local decision-makers.
This chapter presents my thinking on how to reverse the trend of increasing catastrophic
wildfires in the dry forests of the West. I contend that we can help these forests recover
* Adapted by permission from Covington, W.W., Ecological Restoration 21: 7-11, 2003. Copyright 2003 by the
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Reproduced by the permission of the University of
Wisconsin Press.
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