The 20th anniversary of the Yellowstone fires — fires that many thought would devastate Yellowstone’s ecological balance — passed in late September 2008.

But how is the landscape faring now?

David Ganz, the Conservancy’s new director of the Global Fire Initiative, talks with nature.org about lessons learned from the fires, why they weren’t as devastating as many thought they would be — and how fire is used as a conservation tool around the globe.

Nature.org: Why were the Yellowstone wildfires of 1988 so significant?

David Ganz: Twenty years ago, the greater Yellowstone area experienced fires of a size and speed never seen before in modern times. More than 2 million acres burned in more than 4,000 separate fires over the summer of 1988.

These fires led to a nationwide debate about fire management policy on federal lands: Should wildfires be put out immediately, or should they be allowed to burn as “controlled natural fires”? Which strategy is better for the environment and for people?

The debate resulted in the creation of science-based policies regarding fire that promote safe and healthy ecosystems.
 

Nature.org: Media coverage at the time suggested that the fires would cause irreparable destruction and devastation. Why were these predictions inaccurate?

David Ganz: It’s easy to understand why the Yellowstone fires captured a lot of media attention:

• They were some of the largest fires that anyone had seen at that point;
• Public understanding of the natural role of fire was low; and
• Many people wondered if they were witnessing Yellowstone’s destruction on live television. 

But looking back, the reality is that Yellowstone’s wildlife and ecosystems were rejuvenated by the 1988 fires. For example, new lodgepole pine tree seedlings sprang up after fire cleared undergrowth and stimulated the opening of pine cones.

Today the Conservancy is working to spread the word among the general public that some fires can be beneficial for both people and nature.
 

Nature.org: How have the lessons learned from Yellowstone informed the work of the Conservancy in regard to fire?

David Ganz: One of the important lessons of Yellowstone for everyone concerned with fire and conservation is that in fire-dependent ecosystems — such as those that cover most of the United States — fire is necessary to maintain healthy plants, animals and natural resources upon which people depend.

The Conservancy’s Global Fire Initiative works to reconcile the fire-related needs of people and nature. This includes identifying potential environmental, social and economic benefits — and consequences — of fire. When used at the local level, this information helps communities decide how, when and where fire should occur on the land.

In the United States, this effort tends to mean working with communities and land managers to restore fire to places where it is needed for nature to thrive. But in other parts of the world such as Indonesia, we’re trying to stop damaging forest fires from being started.
 

Nature.org: What should the average person know about fire?

David Ganz: The average person should know that many types of plants and wildlife need fire to survive. Periodic fire:

• Stimulates growth and  reproduction of plants;
• Provides wildlife habitat; and
• Ensures healthier natural areas.

We can and must ensure the health of our forests and natural areas by allowing some fires to take their natural course.

In the absence of periodic fire, our landscapes are experiencing larger and more intense wildfires. These severe wildfires release stored carbon into the atmosphere, an increasing problem in today’s warming climate.

Nature.org: Are you saying that natural fires can actually help to combat climate change?

David Ganz: Yes. Fires can help rejuvenate the forests and grasslands that store carbon. So any carbon released by the fires themselves is balanced out by the subsequent renewal of plant life.  

In fact, excluding fire from these types of fire-dependent landscapes can actually result in increased carbon emissions. When fires eventually ignite, as they inevitably do, the build up of vegetation fuels more intense fires — fires from which trees and plants are unable to recover.

As climate change threatens to increase the length of fire seasons across the United States, it increases the urgency for us to develop and implement solutions that address the natural presence of fire in our landscapes.

The Conservancy’s Fire Initiative is working to make this link between wildfires and climate change clear, so that socially and ecologically appropriate fires can be used to combat climate change.
 

Nature.org: How do we convey to the general public — especially to those who are impacted directly by forest fires — that not all fire is bad, and that some fires should be allowed to burn?

David Ganz: Public understanding of the ecological role of fire, and the ways in which humans are changing that role, is vital. The Nature Conservancy has a U.S. Fire Education Program that works with federal and state agencies, tribes and local communities to educate the public about the natural role of fire.

Putting out all fires in natural areas can create conditions that will make later fires burn faster, hotter and more out of control, so we favor allowing more naturally started fires that do not threaten homes, people or the health of natural areas to take their natural course.

For example, the Conservancy has worked to include information about the ecological role of fire into the federal fire agencies’ traditional fire prevention messages. The goal of this work is to increase the public’s understanding and acceptance of the presence of fire on our landscapes.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Jeff Henry/NPS (Yellowstone fires of 1988); Photo © Be Ganz (David Ganz); Photo © Geographer/Wikipedia Commons (lodgepole pine).