RODEO-CHEDISKI: SOME UNDERLYING QUESTIONS

Fire Management Today, Winter 2005 by Beal, Doug

The sponsors of CBD and others (2002) profess the same goal of restoring our southwestern ponderosa pine ecosystems that we do. I believe that a sincere, meaningful dialogue with them and anyone else who might be interested on the best way to use the tools we have to achieve our mutual goals would be far more productive than scoring political points by condemning past management practices.

References

CBD (Center for Biological Diversity); Sierra Club; Southwest Forest Alliance. 2002. Prelude to catastrophe: Recent and historic land management within the area of the Rodeo-Chediski Fire.

Cooper, C.F. 1960. Changes in vegetation, structure, and growth of southwestern pine forests since White settlement. Ecological Monographs. 30(2): 129-164.

Covington, W.W. 1994. Implications for ponderosa pine/bunchgrass ecological systems. In Covington, W.W.; DeBano, L.F., tech. eds. Sustainable ecological systems: Implementing an ecological approach to land management. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-247. Fort Collins, CO: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: 92-97.

GAO (General Accounting Office). 1999. Western national forests: A cohesive strategy is needed to address catastrophic wildfire threats. GAO/RCED-99-65. Washington, DC: GAO.

Johnson, MA 1996. Changed Southwest forests: Resource effects and management remedies. Presentation at conference: Forest Ecology Working Group, Society for American Foresters; 9-13 November; Albuquerque, NM.

Moore, M.M.; Covington, W.W.; Fuie, P.Z. 1999. Reference conditions and ecological restoration: A southwestern ponderosa pine perspective. Ecological Applications. 9(4): 1266-1277.

Steele, R. 1994. The role of succession in forest health. In Sampson, R.N.; Adams, D.L., eds. Assessing forest ecosystem health in the inland West. New York: The Haworth Press, Inc.: 183-190.

USDA Forest Service. 2002. Rodeo-Chediski fire effects summary report. Springerville, AZ: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

Doug Beal is a silviculturist for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Springerville, AZ.