Fire As A Management Tool
Restoration ecology is the name given to an attempt to reverse or mitigate some of the changes that humans have caused to an ecosystem. Controlled burning is one tool that is currently receiving considerable attention as a means of restoration and management. Applying fire to an ecosystem may create habitats for species that have been negatively impacted by fire suppression, or fire may be used as a way of controlling invasive species without resorting to herbicides or pesticides. But what should managers aim to restore their ecosystems to? Does “natural” mean pre-human? Pre-European? Native American use of fire, not natural fires, historically maintained the diversity of the savannas of North America. When, how, and where managers should use fire as a management tool is a subject of debate.
Read more about this topic: Fire Ecology
Famous quotes containing the words fire, management and/or tool:
“Oh! joyous hearts! enfired with holy flame!
Is speech thus tasseled with praise?
Will not your inward fire of joy contain:
That it in open flames doth blaze?
For in Christ’s coach saints sweetly sing,
As they to glory ride therein.”
—Edward Taylor (1645–1729)
“No officer should be required or permitted to take part in the management of political organizations, caucuses, conventions, or election campaigns. Their right to vote and to express their views on public questions, either orally or through the press, is not denied, provided it does not interfere with the discharge of their official duties. No assessment for political purposes on officers or subordinates should be allowed.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“The first tool I step on
Turned into a weapon.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)