"Ponderosa pine became adapted to fire as part of the ecosystem…"
...really the ponderosa pine ecosystem came through evolutionary time through the last 8,000-10,000 years. There are more lightning fires in Arizona-New Mexico than any other place in the United States. There are lots of natural fires, and then the Native Americans, over the last same amount of time, 8,000-10,000 years, have applied fire within those ecosystems. And it's not just here they've done it. It was all across the United States, but particularly in this part of the world. Ponderosa pine became adapted to fire as part of the ecosystem, when fires were frequent, anywhere from two to six years in ponderosa pine, a fire went across. So what it did was keep all the grass, and it kept all the trees down. And then what happened was, is we had small clumps of large pines here, and then open meadows, and a clump over here, and then an open meadow and clumps. And that's the way it was all across the Colorado Plateau in general. And it was maintained that way by fire.