Greetings,
I have found the discussion about fire management interesting. I would
advise caution, however, about making broad generalisations about fire
regimes and management. For example, the concern over recent acreage
burned being "substantially above the five year average". For many
ecosystems, fire cycles are in the order of 50 or 100's of years and a
five year average for area burned is statistically and biologically
meaningless. Fire cycles or return intervals can certainly be
quantified but fire is a random occurrence that will inevitably vary
widely around the mean.
I thought that the original piece outlining ONRC fire management policy
presented a reasonable and well thought out planning document. However,
I think that we have to get beyond restoring some imagined pre-European
state of "perfection" and begin setting real ecological objectives for
fire management.
It will be necessary in the future to objectively assess our landscapes
as they exist now. These landscapes, after more than a century of use,
are very different from the landscapes that existed before the arrival
of Europeans. We must determine what landscape characteristics would be
most beneficial, ecologically, economically and socially. The result
may be very close to a pre-European landscape in some places but may be
very different in other places. To achieve this, we will need all of
our available tools.
Rob
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**** Any opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily those of
Parks Canada. *****
Robert C. Walker
Fire & Vegetation Specialist
Parks Canada
Mountain District West
Box 220
Radium Hot Springs, BC
V0A 1M0
voice: (604) 347-9361
fax: (604) 347-9050
e-mail: rob_walker@pch.gc.ca
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