Description

The rejuvenating effects of natural fires prior to 1900 in Southwestern forest communities have been replaced by recent, unprecedented crownfires. These wildfires have given rise to planned expansion of management fire as a tool for ecosystem restoration, while protecting natural and cultural values on the landscape. However, the underlying lack of complete cultural inventory information coupled with limited understanding by managers of the role and effects of fire can adversely impact the development of clear cultural protection guidelines. Examples of strategies being shared between fire and cultural resource managers to reach common ground are: (1) Support for continued fire history studies. (2) Involvement in an ongoing study of fire effects on cultural materials. One interagency study suggests an upper threshold for heat per unit area of 400 BTU/ft/sec for prescribed fires in ponderosa pine and mixed conifer on the Santa Fe National Forest. (3) Establishment of consultation and avoidance procedures with the State Historic Preservation Officer during planning and preparation for prescribed fires. (4) Providing fire training/orientation to fire history, ecology, and project assignments for cultural personnel. These strategies evolved in part from studies of several wildfire events in the Southwest over the last two decades.