1970s-present

State and federal agencies are engaged in active management to reduce the fuel load through thinning and prescribed burning in an attempt to prevent catastrophic fires.

"A-1" prescribed burn, Peaks Ranger District, Coconino National Forest, 1986.

In the 1970s ecologists and Forest Service personnel began to investigate the complex relationship between fire, the land, living organisms, and human culture. Important discussions have occurred around the renewing aspects of periodic, low-intensity fires, such as removal of overly abundant saplings, rejuvenation of grasses and fire-dependent trees, replenishment of soil nitrogen, and a reduction in insect epidemics.

Hotshots descending mountain (move over image to see all the hotshots).

A series of devastating fires in the region, which have burned extremely hot and caused irreparable damage, have led to increased support in terms of funding and public appreciation for efforts to thin the forest and to conduct broadcast (low intensity) burns, before a catastrophe occurs. Lessons learned from these fires have been applied to existing policies.

Burning juniper piles near Cherry Canyon, Anderson Mesa, December 1984.

Lowell Kendall jackpotting fuels with drip torch on the Long Park Broadcast burn (500 acres), October 1984.