The summer of 2002 will long be remembered for the catastrophic wildfires that raged across our Western states in one of the worst fire seasons in modern history. More than 6 million acres nationwide were affected by fire. Nearly 2,000 homes and other structures were destroyed. Most tragically, 20 wildland firefighters lost their lives.

At an estimated cost of $1.5 billion dollars to you, the taxpayer, this huge expenditure of public funds for fire suppression was a reactive rather than a proactive investment in our forest ecosystems.

As well as loss of homes and lives, large-scale, high intensity wildfires have the potential to adversely affect water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, timber, and recreation on our National Forests. We must do what we can to minimize adverse effects on these resources and people.

On the whole our firefighters are very effective, controlling 99 percent of all fires on initial attack. Yet, despite our best efforts, we are unable to control all fires. The severity and magnitude of some of these fires, and the continued threat they pose into the future, needs to be addressed at local and regional levels.

During the past century aggressive and increasingly effective fire suppression, combined with a management focus on the harvesting of large mature trees resulted in an unnatural build up of brush and small trees, now referred to as “fuel loading.” These management actions and activities resulted in unforeseen consequences, but did reflect social values and the needs of an earlier time. Today, we view much of this forested landscape in need of restoration. In many areas of the forest an overabundance of smaller trees reflects species that are less resistant to natural fire cycles. The density of these forested stands frequently exceeds natural conditions, setting up conditions for catastrophic fire events.

The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest actively manages our public forests to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires. During the past 10 years we have implemented numerous projects to reduce fuel loading near communities and in strategic areas across the forest. These projects include mechanical thinning (104,000 acres in the last decade), and prescribed burning (in recent years 10,000-15,000 acres a year). Our objective is to thin forest stands, thereby removing ladder fuels and retaining the largest, most fire-resistant trees. The goal is to favor tree species naturally adapted to a site that are relatively fire tolerant, such as ponderosa pine and western larch, and to eliminate much of the accumulated surface fuels, brush, and slash. We need to continue and expand these proactive thinning treatments to reduce wildfire intensity and size.

A broad-scale, holistic restoration strategy on the forest allows us to focus work within priority watersheds. This way we can monitor our progress and demonstrate that completed restoration activities are making a difference. Having this strategy in place provides us with a clear definition of priorities and the ability to describe the rationale for proposed management activities.

Our challenge now is to move forward on a scale that realistically addresses the scope of fire risk.

During the past 20 years, many large fires burning outside their range of historic occurrence and intensity have affected the warm dry forests on the Wallowa-Whitman. Nearly 25 percent of the forest has been burned. Without enhanced fuel treatments in these forest stands, wildfires will continue burning at intensities and scales that are biologically and socially unacceptable.

It is true; uncontrolled wildfires do remove some of the unnatural buildup of fuels, but not in a manner that meets society’s expectations for maintaining biodiversity, late-successional old growth, endangered fish and aquatic habitat, and recreational values and opportunities. Indeed, wildfires destroy these resources.

On August 22, 2002 President Bush announced the Healthy Forests Initiative calling on the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to reduce catastrophic wildfire threats with common sense forest health efforts through active forest management. The secretaries of agriculture and interior have developed a four-part legislative package to implement the President’s Healthy Forests Initiative, which would significantly step up efforts that prevent the damage caused by catastrophic wildfires.

Your state government and federal legislators are also keenly aware of the problems, barriers, and limitations to an expanded fuels reduction program on our national forests. It is our hope that these entities, coupled with concerned citizens can collectively chart and support a course that provides us the tools to implement an expanded forest restoration program which directly reduces the risk of catastrophic fires.

Forest restoration has been and will continue to be a partnership with you, the public. Citizen based boards and committees in Union and Wallowa counties have been actively working with interested parties and local district rangers to identify and prioritize restoration work. This process is now being established in Baker County as well.

Our local ranger districts work hand in hand with other agencies and interests to jointly plan, fund, and implement forest restoration projects. Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Grande Ronde Model Watershed facilitate and fund restoration projects and provide a nexus to partner with private landowners for joint restoration efforts. These efforts are moving forest restoration forward.

The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest strives to maintain an open and transparent planning process. I encourage you to become involved in the restoration of your National Forest.

Editor’s note: Karyn Wood is supervisor of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.