Date:            September 11, 2007
From:           The Ozark Society
To:               Public Wilderness land managers and policy makers
Subject:        Use of prescribed fire in Arkansas Wilderness areas
Position:      Prescribed burning should be stopped in Wilderness.

The Ozark Society has decided for numerous reasons that prescribed fire should be discontinued in Lower Buffalo Wilderness and plans for prescribed fire should be dropped in all other Arkansas wildernesses.

Here are some of the reasons prescribed fires should be stopped:

·       We believe the Wilderness Law states “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”  This means it should be left alone.

·       There have not been any in-depth studies, monitoring and inventorying of existing conditions and species in Wilderness to determine if changing the ecosystem through a regimen of fire is needed or detrimental.

·       There has been potentially biased (one-sided) research on the past role of fire but little on the adverse effects to existing, thriving ecosystems.  Further wilderness manipulation is an affront to the concepts and values that wilderness advocates hold dear.

·       In most cases, there is not an updated, working and viable Wilderness management plan in place to address not only the use of fire but monitoring of existing uses, Recreation Carrying Capacity, rehabilitating old roads, wilderness cleanup from past practices and gaining public consensus.

·       Our existing dedicated wilderness areas are very young and small.  The areas are just trying to recover from a century of intense farming, erosion, burning, exotic species, timber harvests, and mining.  Any management change must take a very best practices approach which should include many disciplines.  Fire is one small element that may affect many more.  Climate changes, effects from outside areas, size of area, public opinion, arson and lightning fires, invasive species, smoke, closing wilderness during the burn month, endangered and threatened species, man’s continued use and possible abuse, and the concept that man does not have to control everything, should all be considered.

·       Federal wilderness law and definitions were a hard fought 40 year battle.  Wise men saw the need to protect some last remaining pieces of land from man’s manipulation.  This selfless work and dedication should not be taken lightly in any management plan developed for wilderness.  If the wilderness environment needs to be changed, it should be done with close deliberation, much science from unbiased sources, and a respect and reverence for the unique, delicate and scarce land belonging to all of us.

·       The problem of wildfires and fuel loads in the Western US has created a funding stream available to managing agencies with the intent of stopping catastrophic forest fires.  In the wetter eastern states, managers can not justify the use of this money for fuel reduction so they have come up with “ecosystem restoration”, a plan that removes most the hardwood trees and tree dwelling mammals.  

·       Denying fire in the forest may have changed the ecosystem.  Where grasses and forbs once existed, the land is covered with dogwood, hickory, ash, maple, hop hornbeam and a host of plants and animals that are dependent on a hardwood environment.  There are also no more buffalo, elk, wolves and other animals that had an impact on that environment. 

·       The Ozark Society is not willing to take the chance on an experiment that will turn a healthy forest into grassland just for the sake of history.  Man has already rendered 96% of Arkansas unavailable for restoration.

The Ozark Society is made up of highly educated citizens who study and debate issues fully before deciding on recommendations to management plans. 

We recognize that there should be a fire management plan in place to address lightning and arson fires in wilderness.  Under certain conditions and frequency, fires could be left to burn for some predetermined effect.  Other fires will need to be extinguished to avoid destruction of valuable resources and private property.  Protecting life and property should always be of utmost importance when allowing or putting out fires.  Wilderness ethics and law should always be considered when fighting fires in wilderness to avoid a lasting impact.

In closing, please stop all plans for prescribed fire in wilderness.  The possible benefits do not outweigh the values of what we see in leaving wilderness alone.

Thanks,
Kirk Wasson
Conservation Chair
Ozark Society
501-340-3678   
kwasson1@swbell.net