For eons, fire has played an essential role in maintaining the health and resiliency of many ecosystems. Now, after decades of fire suppression, the reintroduction of fire to wildland ecosystems is of elemental importance. The Wilderness Society is working with dozens of communities in the West to ensure that communities and the people who live in them are safeguarded while ecosystems are restored.
Beyond Fear and Flames
Our Idaho Forest Campaign Manager, John McCarthy, spent 48 hours with the U.S. Forest Service in the middle of the Trapper Ridge fire. This unique, on-the-ground experience gave him the chance to examine, first-hand, the more modern fire management approach the agencies are taking to some fires that don’t immediately threaten people or property, allowing the fires to perform their natural role in restoring the landscape.
>> Join John at the Trapper Ridge fire
A Better Approach to Fire Management
With fires across the west, the U.S. Forest Service's suppression budget is already dwinding. A new and better approach is needed.
>> Read the full editorial
Forest Service Can't Cut Its Way Out of Wildfire Risk
Wildland fire in the role of villain is all too familiar. Debate over fire’s potential impact on climate change could revive this otherwise fading characterization. Tom DeLuca, a TWS scientist, suggests in a recent article that a black hat still doesn’t fit.
>> Read the article
A Model for Community Wildland Fire Planning
The 200-mile long Front Range of Colorado is the area where the eastern plains abut the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The area contains dozens of towns and cities, many within the path of inevitable forest fires. Now, a new report, Living with Fire: Protecting Communities and Restoring Forests, will serve as a road-map to protect communities and restore the ecological integrity of our forests over the coming decades. The report is the culmination of two years of work among a diverse group of scientists, federal and state policy makers, emergency managers and business and conservation groups.
>> Learn more
Mapping Fire-Prone Forests
Some 85 percent of the land around western communities with the highest fire risk is privately or state owned. Yet the bulk of federal funds for wildfire preparation is spent on federal lands.
Our mapping project helps communities see where the greatest areas of risk are, so they can prioritize accordingly. We are also collaborating with community residents and local stakeholders to ensure that scarce federal funds for fuel reduction are spent where they are needed most—protecting homes and communities within the Community Fire Planning Zone (CFPZ).
>> View the maps
More Wildland Fire Planning Resources
- Wildfire Library: Chock full of informational goodness about community and landscapes, wildfire policy, budgeting and economics.
- Experts: Staff at The Wilderness Society skilled in the art of wildfire economics, policy and science.
- Wildfire News Update: Archives of our email newsletter.
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