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Fire Ecologist Warns That Bush's Fire Management Protocols Not Be A License For Indiscriminate Logging

In the wake of this summer's catastrophic wildfires, President Bush is expected to announce a new approach to managing public lands that removes administrative barriers to cutting timber from fire-prone lands.

Norman L. Christensen Jr., professor of ecology in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University, says there is no question that active suppression of fires has resulted in excessive accumulation of highly flammable fuels in many western forests, but he warns against action that will increase logging indiscriminately.

"In those situations, restoration of normal fuel loads by thinning undergrowth makes enormous sense," he says. "We must, however, understand that intense fires in some regions are equally a consequence of abnormal drought conditions and not abnormal fuel accumulations.

"Our fire management policies and protocols should be tailored to the particular conditions in each region. Whatever policies are employed, it is critical that land management agencies provide assurances that their primary goal will be restoration of more normal fire regimes and not a backdoor mechanism to increase the cut of merchantable timber on public lands."

Christensen, founding dean of the Nicholas School, chaired an Interagency Review Panel on the Yellowstone Fires of 1988 and has written widely on fire management challenges. He is particularly interested in the factors that influence fire frequency and behavior and the consequences for ecosystems.

Christensen can be reached for additional comment at (919) 613-8052 or normc@duke.edu.