George Wuerthner's latest book, "Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy," is not just a handsome coffee table tome; it is an exploration and critique on wildfire management that is intended to create an awareness about the benefits of wildfire on public land throughout the U.S.
In Idaho alone, wildfires have burned more than 900,000 acres and are a major part of the state's ecology.
"The motivation for the book besides an education to wildfires was to critique the present land management policies, which are not based on the latest ecological findings," Wuerthner said. "The main focus is to put wildfires in a more positive light. When we hear about fires most of us think it's a tragedy, but that is a one-sided view. It is the main force for rejuvenation and creating opportunities for many plants and animals."
Educating the public about the role of wildfires in the preservation of land is difficult when the media and mainstream news sources paint wildfires to be disastrous.
"If you are looking out on a forest, all those trees have burned at some point, maybe a 100 years ago," Wuerthner said. "When I go out into an area that just burned, it looks pretty bad. What I am able to do because of travel—what I have seen and know—I am able to envision what it looks like in three years with wildflowers and, later, with Aspens and even later full of elk."
In a lecture sponsored by Hailey-based Western Watersheds Project on Thursday, Feb. 22, at the nexStage Theatre, Wuerthner described in depth how the general perception of wildfires is very negative, and the use of pejorative language in describing fires to the mainstream public does not help in educating them about the positive aspects of wildfires.
In addition, Wuerthner discussed, among many other things, how a variety of habitats and specific types of forests and lands have either suffered or benefited from wildfires. Aside from the natural causes of wildfire, Wuerthner also explained how logging, clear cutting and prescribed fires have affected the land. He revealed that there is still a great deal to learn about the types of trees to clear or not clear as well as how snags—leftover trees from wildfires—provide homes for birds and animals and creates better ecologic systems for streams and rivers.
Based on "Wildfire," Wuerthner's lecture offered an even more critical analysis of the types of forest issues that are both ignored and aided by wildfires that occur, whether naturally or prescribed. However, Wuerthner's most important point was the understanding of why a wildfire occurs.
"When you have certain conditions of extreme drought combined with low humidity and high winds and you get a lightning strike or a person, it is virtually impossible to stop the fire," Wuerthner said. "In general, any individual will not see fires in their backyard in their lifetime."
It is a disaster to have a home burn, but a forest fire is not a terrible event, according to Wuerthner. Urban sprawl, however, has placed firefighters not only in dangerous positions but has forced them to hemorrhage funds that could be used elsewhere in government's budget.
"We spend millions of dollars trying to stop it. The Yellowstone fire of '88—the firefighters knew that they couldn't stop it. The public could not tolerate it not being stopped, and they don't understand it can't be stopped," Wuethner said. "One of the big problems is the sprawl we are seeing is causing higher costs for firefighters. Concentrating on the human settlement reduces the fire fighting cost of suppression and the safety of the firefighters."
The Wood River Valley is an area of wildfire concern battling fires regularly. Many in the audience agreed that Wuethner should make his presentation to politicians to open their minds enough to see the big picture.
This image was taken 20 minutes after the start of the Valley Road Fire on Saturday. Sept. 3, 2005, 40 miles north of Sun Valley. The Valley Road Fire was the largest fire in the history of the Sawtooth National Forest consuming 40, 838 acres of the White Clouds region.
