Political climate and policy implementation can have unpredictable effects on firefighting and forest management.

NAU.PH.2002.21.46
Ken Smith & Dave Broquist mop up next to fireline as trees torch up near the line. Slim Fire, Apache Sitgreaves N.F., 7/5/87
NAU.PH.2002.21.62
Spraying fire extinction foam on a fire.
NAU.PH.2002.21.1
Fire Camp, Curly Fire, June 22, 1980.
NAU.PH.2002.21.23
743 crew leaving the truck in the hoselay competition. (Bob Ogden, Park Gilbertson and unknown)
NAU.PH.2002.21.54
Tim DeSpain gasps for air under a mountain of dirty hose from an active week of fighting fire, 6/11/88.
NAU.PH.2002.21.67
In a tight spot with a slipped track, Eagle Nest Fire, Boise N.F., 7/29 - 8/12/89.
NAU.PH.2001.20.1.215 Mormon Lake Hotshot firefighter Albert Standing just after coming off the Steamboat Fire line, June 30, 2001.
Diane Vosick

Diane Vosick
Senior program representative, Northern Arizona University's Ecological Restoration Institute

"…it's not a partisan issue. It cuts across everything, especially when you start considering the danger posed to people's lives and property."

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Charlie Denton

Charlie Denton
Retired career firefighter and district ranger for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

"We have always said that large fires in even-numbered years are tough, because they're political years."

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Susan Billingsley

Susan Billingsley
Former forest technician and Grand Canyon river guide; first female NAU Forestry graduate

"I think that I would hate to work for the Forest Service right now. You would not be doing forestry, you would be doing public relations."

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