The Impacts of Wildfires

  • Lands & Wildlife

    The threat to wildlife is obvious. The destruction of habitat on the natrual scale can be enormous, especially if forests are allowed to be overgrown.

    Some forests grow on soil that can not recover from high-temperature wildfires for many years. This kills off wildlife, and can threaten species for years to come.

  • Our Homes

    Our homes and ranches, if not properly protected, can easily be destroyed by wildfires. This can happen in the blink of an eye; fires can consume tens of thousands of acres in mere days.

    The National Interagency Fire Center reported 8.8 million acres burned from over 52,000 wildfires in 2020 in the U.S.

  • Our Future

    Wildfires emit massive quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Fires in the Western United States released 130 million tons of CO2 in the summer of 2021.

    By acting, instead of reacting, we can gain an advantage. Why wait until it is too late?

  • Conifer Encroachment

    It may come as a surprise, but many of the forests in the U.S. are growing, not shrinking. Many grasslands have been slowly taken over by Conifer trees - called Conifer Encroachment. Conifers pull water from an area that is larger than what they inhabit, stifling the growth of grasslands. It creates a Monoculture - extremely limiting the diversity of the ecosystem. Additionally, the overgrowth of conifers removes the natural habitat of several animals, namely Sage Grouse and Elk. We can identify Conifer encroachment and have the tools to remedy the issue.

Resources

Articles & Information

 
 
 

The Solution!

 

  • No problem is without a solution.

    The problems we currently face in forests and wilderness were stated above.

    A chronic lack of fire in the landscape and no other measures taken to maintain the natural order.

    Despite what many will tell you, there are proven and efficient ways to manage this problem without negative side effects.

    The only requirement is that we have patience, perspective, and understanding of the methods that we can use.

    They are not perfect.

    They are not fast.

    They ARE effective.

    They DO cost us less in the long run.

  • Mastication, or mulching, is one of the solutions that we have for managing the problems before us.

    Mastication is taking the excess and overgrown trees, rotting and downed trees, and overgrown or overly dense brush and shredding them up to help reset the forest or landscape without fire.

    The benefits that we have seen with mastication are:

    • Erosion becomes less of an issue as all the wood rejoins the soil.

    • The soil composition is greatly increased.

    • The impact on local wildlife is minimal.

    • And, depending on the area, the cost can be greatly reduced per acre compared to a wildfire or logging.

  • Fire is a naturally occurring phenomenon in the world. Wildfires are Mother Natures’ broom and dustpan. Science has repetitively and unanimously proven that this is the case.

    When we started putting out and stopping every fire, we were going against the natural order of things. Not that we knew at the time, that what we were doing was wrong.

    Now there are too many people living amongst the trees to stop putting fires out. People and their homes must come first.

    The only way to help return balance is to help Mother Nature do what it needs, but OUR WAY.

    With mastication, logging, and prescribed fire. Where we want it. When we want it. How we want it.