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Published: July 29th 2011
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In 1950, a frightened, orphaned bear cub with badly burned paws was retrieved from a tree where he had taken refuge from the Capitan Gap fire in Lincoln County, NM. Flown by private plane to Washington's National Zoo, he became the living embodiment of the U.S. Forest Service campaign against fires which had begun with the debut of a new ad campaign in 1944 in which Smokey Bear ("the" was added later by popular usage) told us that by taking care we could prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires. The official policy was to suppress all fires by 10 A.M. the morning after they were spotted. Thousands of fire spotting towers were set up in national forests, and a small army of men was employed to fight the fires as needed. Unfortunately, Smokey ran afoul of the law - the law of unintended consequences. Suppressing fires led to build-ups of brush and dead material on forest floors, which both increase the risk of fire and made for conditions in which fires that burned were more likely to scorch deeply the soil and subsoil, killing seeds and the delicate microenvironment of fungi and bacteria needed for quick re-growth.
By the
1970's the policy had recognized the essential role of natural fires in ecosystems and had changed to one in which fires were suppressed only if they were man-caused or threatened lives and/or property. this was the policy in place at the beginning of the summer of 1988.
That year brought the most severe drought in Yellowstone's recorded history. By early July, there had already been about 20 wildfires, most as a result of natural causes, although there also man-caused fires. Although the prediction had been for a "normal" fire year with 6-10 fires in Yellowstone caused by man and about 35 natural fires. Those predictions were not informed of the developing drought. By July 15, with the drought now recognized and about 1% of Yellowstone burning, the decision was made to suppress all fires if possible. It was not. Smaller fires combined into larger fires, and, pushed by high winds and fueled by dry grasses and brush from the drought, they burned out of control. Only heroic efforts of the NPS and about 4000 military managed to prevent loss of the historic structures such as the Old Faithful Inn. The park was closed for the first time in early
September, but only for a few days. An early snowfall on September 11 began the process of calming the fires, and they never again were really threatening. They died as winter came. Before that happened, they had consumed about 800,000 acres, some 36% of the park and an area larger than the state of Rhode Island.
Yellowstone is known for its large stands of picturesque lodgepole pines. Crowded close together, they compete for light, but shade the forest floor so much that little else can establish itself. This creates what scientists call a "lodgepole desert", with lots of lodgepoles but relatively little else. On average, lodgepoles grow for about 100 years and then fire comes along and many are lost, opening up the land for greater diversity. Fire is even essential for the lodgepoles, since much of the re-seeding of lodgepoles comes from serotinous pine cones, covered with a thick resin that keeps the seeds from dropping out until the cone is exposed to temperatures above 113 degrees. Yellowstone has recovered from the fires, and re-growth is occurring well. In fact, the park may have the world's largest collection of 23 year old lodgepole pines. The open areas have
increased diversity of species.
But the darker side of this story is that a new study projects that global warming will result in unprecedented events such as those of 1988 becoming commonplace by 2050, perhaps occurring as often as every 7 years. If that occurs, it will convert much of Yellowstone into scrub brushlands, with as yet unknown consequences for the animals. I don't know whether Yellowstone will be a better place or not, but it will certainly be different.
The situation is more bleak for Glacier. It is clear that global warming is melting the glaciers, and many are going to be lost soon. Grinnell Glacier, toward which we hiked, may be gone by 2020. In comparison picture after comparison picture, glaciers now are only a fragment of what they were 20-60 years ago. If you want to see the glaciers of Glacier National Park, I would go soon.
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