"We do know that if we bring back fire, the forest will begin to heal itself, and will support those systems that will hopefully bring back these species that should be there."
We suppressed fire, so that the natural framework for the forest was removed.
As a consequence, we've wound up with a much denser forest, a forest that has, if you look at the biodiversity of a ponderosa pine forest, the real story is in the grasses, the wildflowers, and the shrubs. There are 600 species that are represented in that layer. The trees in the Southwest are between ten and fifteen species. So the real diversity is in that plant layer that when you have a forest closing with ponderosa pines, you are actually usurping or forcing out those plants. And then of course all the associated animals with those plants. And so we've changed the system.
We aren't knowledgeable enough—I mean, in the face of nature you have to have tremendous humility, and we can't develop an instruction manual for bringing back worms, for bringing back certain butterflies. We just don't know. But we do know that if we bring back fire, the forest will begin to heal itself, and will support those systems that will hopefully bring back these species that should be there.