Good overview in light of the recent fires in the Sierras and the damage they caused.
Forest Policy Up in Smoke:
Fire Suppression in the United States
By Alison Berry
Forests evolved over millennia in the presence of fire, a vital ecological process¬fire returns nutrients to the soil and helps seedlings establish. In 1911 the United States Forest Service began to suppress all fires on American forests, resulting in dangerous accumulations of fuels. Conflagrations of increased intensity result and firefighting costs escalate, complicated by growing populations along the forest border, the “wildland-urban interface.” Dense forests are also more vulnerable to insects and diseases. A policy designed to protect forests and communities has instead endangered them. This paper examines the background and consequences of fire suppression, with recommendations for improvement.
Berry presented htis paper to the International Society for New Institutional Economics in July 2007 at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik.
