Table of Contents

Preface: America's Hundred Year's War on Wildfire
Questioning the Dogma of War
"Professional" versus "Indian" Forestry
Burning the Southern Woods
Harolds of Change
Only You
Harry the Torch
Who Were Anti-War Activists of the 1960s and 1970s?
Tall Timbers
Dog-hair Thickets in the National Parks
Burning California State Parks
National Fire Management
To Burn or Not to Burn Is NOT the Question
Yellowstone, 1988
On the Edge
Escape!
Peaceful Coexistence
Bibliography
Index

Promotional Information

Carle explores 100 years of controversy over prescribed burning-using fire as a tool-and fire suppression, using the voices of early advocates and today's proponents to examine the strategy of controlled burning.

About the Author

DAVID CARLE was a state park ranger in California for 27 years. Before retiring in 2000, he was at the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve, where he participated in the prescribed burn program at Mono Lake. He also taught biology at Cerro Coso Community College. Now a freelance writer, he is the author of Drowning the Dream: California's Water Choices at the Millennium (Praeger, 2000) and Mono Lake Viewpoint (1992).

Reviews

"Endorsement From Bruce Babbitt Former Secretary of the Interior: An important and timely work of wildland fire history. The voices in this book warn us about past mistakes that we must not repeat. Endorsement From James Agee Professor of Forest Ecology University of Washington: Carle joins Ashley Schiff and Stephen Pyne as the preeminent fire historians of America. At a time when we are suffering the consequences of a century of fire suppression, Carle brings forth for the first time the story of the Western fire ecology pioneers, who began fighting for a more rationale fire policy in our Western fire environments. The careers of Harold Weaver and Harold Biswell, spun within the suffocating context of 20th century fire suppression, will be inspiring for new generations of fire managers and scientists. Endorsement From Bruce M. Kilgore Retired from the National Park Service Formerly Associate Regional Director Science and Resources Management Western Region, NPS: Carle has done a great job of covering the story of the evolution of fire suppression to RX fire management over the past century. A lively narrative style picks up individual historical comments and conveys attitudes that portray the essential roles the Harolds and Komareks played in setting forth fires various functions in Southern and Western ecosystems. The patience and persistence of Biswell and Weaver and their students and colleagues in Park Service and Forest Service are finally given fair recognition! And the stories of the 1910 fires, the 1988 Yellowstone fires, Oakland 1991, and the Cerro Grande fire of 2000 are all included! Endorsement From Jack Ward Thomas Chief Emeritus, U.S. Forest Service Boone and Crocket Professor of Wildlife Conservation University of Montana: The nation is in its early stages of what could be called a 'paradigm shift' related to how both wildfire and controlled burning are addressed in natural resources management. This shift has been a long time coming and David Carle documents those changes through the stories of the pioneers in fire ecology and controlled burning and their disciples--and in a most entertaining fashion.