By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Wildland fire on forest service lands creates a
serious problem for Juab County and it is a problem that
could be largely prevented by proper management.
So Robert Steele told Kenton Call, representing the
revision committee for the Dixie and Fishlake National
Forest Plan Revision, as commissioners discussed the new
plan with Call.
"The present management on forest service land is what
is causing the problem," said Steele.
Grazing used to help keep the overgrowth of plants and
grasses which provide fuel for wildland fires under
control.
"Fire fighting costs a lot of money that we, as a
county, cannot afford," he said.
His father used to be a government trapper and also
was a fire fighter. Because of the allowed grazing and the
way the forest service was managed, he said, there were
fewer fires of consequence.
In fact, his father, single-handedly put out many
fires.
"We would like management to allow a little more
grazing," said Steele.
Wildland fire is defined as a fire not under
control.The forest service and Bureau of Land Management
stand, in the past, has been that the unintended
consequences of logging, livestock grazing, and fire control
resulted in significant changes to species composition and
structure especially in short interval fire-adapted
ecosystems.
As the forest service has managed lands more as
"natural" resources, grazing allotments have continued to
decline. Steele said this is not good for the forest in the
long run.
"This is a scary year for wildland fire," said Neil
Cook, commission chairman.
Because of the wet spring and wet early summer, he
said, grass had gown abundantly. When it dried, the whole
county would be in danger of fires.
Wild land fires, particularly in the west, occur
mostly during extreme weather, characterized by high
temperatures, low humidity, high winds, drought, dry
lightening storms and large areas of insect
depredations.
Like hurricanes in the south, tornadoes in the
Midwest, and floods along river channels, fire is a natural
part of the western landscape that needs to be managed.
Proper land management practices, said Steele, can
reduce the extent and size of fires and their resulting
damage.
Call said that the county commission in Millard County
had the same concerns about wildfire as did Juab County
commissioners.
He told commissioners that when a fire did occur and
an official claim was made, a transportation map should be
given to the forest service so that the claim would receive
proper consideration.
There was also concern, on the part of the commission,
about wildland fire interface so that communities were
protected and fire fighter's lives were not put in
danger.
The "urban wildland interface" is the
geographical area where combustible homes are mixed with
combustible vegetation.
"Managing the wildfire interface is important," said
Call.
Human intervention, including fire suppression, in
wild lands over the past 250 years has created a far
different environment than historically existed.
Vegetative changes, have also affected wildfires
because invasive annual grasses and weeds are now prevalent.
These flammable species create favorable fire conditions and
reestablish more rapidly than native vegetation after being
burned.
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