Public Lands Forest Management

Catastrophic Results of Fire Suppression

National forests cover 193 million acres in the United States; more than 1.2 million acres of national forests are in Mississippi. These forests have evolved with fires, insect and disease outbreaks, and blowdowns, which allows them to retain biodiversity and forest health.

Decades of forest management aimed at suppressing natural fires and insect outbreaks, as well as years of managing forests for intensive timber production, have helped produce unnatural conditions. These conditions result in wildfires that are destroying forests, wildlife habitat, and homes and contribute to a changing climate.

Nationwide, more than 60 million acres of trees are at high risk of wildfire or need restoration. In the past 10 years, more than 65 million acres have burned. Approximately 10 million acres burned in 2015, killing 11 firefighters.

Federal foresters estimate that 190 million acres of land managed by the departments of Agriculture and the Interior are at high risk of catastrophic wildfire. On our national forests alone, since 2000, wildfires average 6.9 million acres burned annually. In 1995, fire made up 16% of the annual appropriated budget of national forests. In 2015, fire made up 52% of the appropriated budget. That is a decrease in 36% of their funds that would be used for other activities, including research, forest improvements, and maintenance.

Managing Forests Can Help

Conservation can reverse these conditions through a variety of actions, such as harvesting trees and using controlled burns to mimic natural disturbances. Managing forests makes them able to withstand fire, pests, and diseases. Management eliminates or reduces the impact of catastrophic wildfire, protects riparian areas important for stream health fish species, and protects water quality due to runoff of excess sediment after fires, which can impair drinking water supplies.

Using modern techniques by land management professionals, we have the technology and know-how to restore America’s cherished landscapes back to a healthy, natural condition. Through the use of environmentally smart thinning, prescribed burns and other practices, forests can be returned to a natural balance and made more resilient.