Why Should The Nature Conservancy Engage in Fire Management?

The influences that affected ecosystems before human settlement have been greatly altered across the globe. Chief among these is fire. The fire regimes that prevailed for thousands of years no longer exist. In some places fires are now more frequent, in others they are less so. Many areas that used to experience frequent, low-intensity fires now have less frequent but much more catastrophic fires.

A generation of enlightened scientists and resource managers has spread the word that the public interest, in many instances, is served by fire management--a broader strategy than viewing fire solely as a destructive force that must be extinguished at any cost as quickly as possible. Largely because of this effort, public policy permits the use of fire to accomplish resource management objectives, including the conservation strategies of The Nature Conservancy.

Because the natural fire regimes of many areas have been altered, it is important for The Nature Conservancy to plan and implement fire management and to train others to do so. We must consider the possibility of wildfire on our lands and anticipate possible detrimental effects of fire suppression. We also must recognize the ecological consequences of fire exclusion from ecosystems where fire has played a significant ecological and evolutionary role. And finally, we must consider the public, whose attitudes affect laws and regulations under which we, as fire managers, must function. Almost every fire has public consequences, ranging from aesthetic and ethical concerns to health and safety.

The Fire Management Manual encourages TNC personnel to plan and implement fire management where it is justified,by the Conservancy's mission, but it also regulates the planning and implementation process to insure a judicious, conservative approach that will protect TNC as an organization, its staff and volunteers, and its targets of conservation management.

Last updated January 1, 2009.