Editing Controlled burn (section)

==History==

There are two basic causes of [[wildfire]]s. One is natural, mainly through lightning, and the other is human activity.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Rachel G. Schneider |author2=Deborah Breedlove |title=Fire Management Study Unit |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm9_028958.pdf |access-date=May 8, 2016 |publisher=Georgia Forestry Commission}}</ref> Controlled burns have a long history in wildland management. Fire has been used by humans to clear land since the Neolithic period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Iversen |first=Johannes |date=March 1956 |title=Forest Clearance in the Stone Age |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0356-36 |journal=Scientific American |volume=194 |issue=3 |pages=36–41 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0356-36 |bibcode=1956SciAm.194c..36I |issn=0036-8733|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Fire history studies have documented regular wildland fires ignited by indigenous peoples in North America and [[Australia]]<ref>{{cite journal |author1=R.A. Bradstock |author2=M. Bedward |author3=B.J. Kenny |author4=J. Scott |year=1998 |title=Spatially-explicit simulation of the effect of prescribed burning on fire regimes and plant extinctions in shrublands typical of south-eastern Australia |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=86 |issue=1 |pages=83–95 |bibcode=1998BCons..86...83B |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(97)00170-5}}</ref><ref name="sciencedirect.com">{{cite journal |author1=Scott L. Stephens |author2=Robert E. Martin |author3=Nicholas E. Clinton |year=2007 |title=Prehistoric fire area and emissions from California's forests, woodlands, shrublands, and grasslands |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=251 |issue=3 |pages=205–216 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2007.06.005|bibcode=2007ForEM.251..205S }}</ref> prior to the establishment of colonial law and fire suppression. Native Americans frequently used fire to manage natural environments in a way that benefited humans and wildlife in forests and grasslands by starting low-intensity fires that released nutrients for plants, reduced competition for cultivated species, and consumed excess flammable material that otherwise would eventually fuel high-intensity, catastrophic fires.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chapter Introduction: Fire Ecology |url=https://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/tablerock/files/fire_ecol_intro.pdf}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{cite web |last1=Palmer |first1=Jane |date=29 March 2021 |title=Fire as Medicine: Learning from Native American Fire Stewardship |url=https://eos.org/features/fire-as-medicine-learning-from-native-american-fire-stewardship |website=eos.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Sten |first1=Michaela |title=Fire-Adapted: Plants and Animals Rely on Wildfires for Resilient Ecosystems |url=https://defenders.org/blog/2020/07/fire-adapted-plants-and-animals-rely-wildfires-resilient-ecosystems |website=defenders.org|date=12 July 2020 }}</ref><ref name="Right to Burn">{{cite journal |last1=Hoffman |first1=Kira |last2=Christianson |first2=Amy |last3=Dickson-Hoyle |first3=Sarah |date=31 March 2022 |title=The right to burn: barriers and opportunities for Indigenous-led fire stewardship in Canada |journal=FACETS |volume=7 |issue=January 2022 |pages=464–481 |doi=10.1139/facets-2021-0062 |s2cid=247891618 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== North America ===
The use of controlled burns in North America ended in the early 20th century, when federal fire policies were enacted with the goal of suppressing all fires.<ref name="sciencedirect.com" /> Since 1995, the US Forest Service has slowly incorporated burning practices into its forest management policies.<ref name=":10">{{cite journal |author1=Scott L. Stephens |author2=Lawrence W. Ruth |year=2005 |title=Federal Forest-Fire Policy in the United States |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=532–542 |bibcode=2005EcoAp..15..532S |doi=10.1890/04-0545}}</ref>

Fire suppression has changed the composition and ecology of North American habitats, including highly fire-dependent ecosystems such as oak savannas<ref>{{cite web |title=Oak Savannas: characteristics, restoration and long term management |url=https://oaksavannas.org |website=oaksavannas.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Barrens and Savannas communities of Wisconsin |url=https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/Communities.asp?mode=group&Type=Barrens%20and%20Savannas}}</ref> and canebrakes,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cockman |first1=Crystal |title=The loss of the great canebrakes |url=https://ui.charlotte.edu/story/loss-great-canebrakes |website=ui.charlotte.edu |publisher=UNC Charlotte Urban Institute}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shoemaker |first1=Cory M. |date=2018 |title=Environmental and landscape factors affecting the continued suppression of canebrakes (Arundinaria gigantea, Poaceae) within restorations of bottomland hardwood forests |journal=The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society |volume=145 |issue=2 |pages=156–152 |doi=10.3159/TORREY-D-17-00011.1 |s2cid=90442090}}</ref> which are now critically endangered habitats on the brink of extinction. In the Eastern United States, fire-sensitive trees such as the red maple are increasing in number, at the expense of fire-tolerant species like oaks.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Highfield |first1=Craig |date=21 November 2018 |title=Foresters' conflicted love for red maple highlights its various roles |url=https://www.bayjournal.com/columns/message_from_the_alliance/foresters-conflicted-love-for-red-maple-highlights-its-various-roles/article_1da6b161-5645-591f-881a-439aa40ccc24.html |website=bayjournal.com}}</ref>

==== Canada ====
In the [[Anishinaabe|Anishinaabeg Nation]] around the [[Great Lakes]], fire is a living being that has the power to change landscapes through both destruction and the regrowth and return of life following a fire. Human beings are also inexorably tied to the land they live on as stewards who maintain the ecosystems around them. Because fire can reveal dormant seedlings, it is a land management tool. Fire was a part of the landscapes of [[Ontario]] until early colonial rule restricted indigenous culture in across Canada.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Christianson |first1=Amy Cardinal |last2=Sutherland |first2=Colin Robert |last3=Moola |first3=Faisal |last4=Gonzalez Bautista |first4=Noémie |last5=Young |first5=David |last6=MacDonald |first6=Heather |date=2022-09-01 |title=Centering Indigenous Voices: The Role of Fire in the Boreal Forest of North America |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-022-00168-9 |journal=Current Forestry Reports |language=en |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=257–276 |doi=10.1007/s40725-022-00168-9 |issn=2198-6436 |pmc=9537118 |pmid=36217365|bibcode=2022CForR...8..257C }}</ref> During colonization, large scale forest fires were caused by sparks from railroads and fire was used to clear land for agriculture use. The public perception of forest fires was positive because the cleared land represented taming the wilderness to an urban populace. The conservation movement, which was spearheaded by [[Edmund Zavitz]] in Ontario, caused a ban on all fires, both natural wild fires and intentional fires.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bacher |first=John |title=Two Billion Trees and Counting: The Legacy of Edmund Zavitz |publisher=Dundurn Press |year=2011 |isbn=9781459701113 |publication-date=2011}}</ref>

In the 1970s, [[Parks Canada]] began implementing small prescribed burns however, the scale of wildfires each year outpaces the acreage of land that is intentionally burnt.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=Canada – The Impact of Fire-exclusion Legislation  |url=https://www.iawfonline.org/article/canada-the-impact-of-fire-exclusion-legislation/ |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=International Association of Wildland Fire |language=en-US}}</ref> In the late 1980s, the [[Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario)|Ministry of Natural Resources]] in Ontario began conducting prescribed burns on forested land which led to the created of a prescribed burn program as well as training and regulation for controlled burns in Ontario.<ref name="pubs.cif-ifc.org"/>

In [[British Columbia]], there was an increase in the intensity and scale of wildfires after local bylaws restricted the use of controlled burns. In 2017, following one of the worst years for wildfire in the province's history, indigenous leadership and public service members wrote an independent report that suggested returning to the traditional use of prescribed burns to manage understory fuel from wildfires.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Abbott |first=George |date=2017 |title=Addressing the New Normal: 21st Century Disaster Management in British Columbia |url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/public-safety-and-emergency-services/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/embc/bc-flood-and-wildfire-review-addressing-the-new-normal-21st-century-disaster-management-in-bc-web.pdf |journal=BC Flood and Wildfire Review}}</ref> The government of British Columbia responded by committing to using controlled burns as a wildfire management tool.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Forests |date=2019-08-12 |title=Prescribed burns reduce wildfire risks {{!}} BC Gov News |url=https://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/prescribed-burns-reduce-wildfire-risks |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=news.gov.bc.ca |language=en}}</ref>

==== United States ====
The [[Oregon Department of Environmental Quality]] began requiring a permit for farmers to burn their fields in 1981, but the requirements became stricter in 1988 following a multi-car collision<ref>[http://extension.oregonstate.edu/oap/story.php?S_No=80&storyType=oap&page=4] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903084945/http://extension.oregonstate.edu/oap/story.php?S_No=80&storyType=oap&page=4|date=September 3, 2006}}</ref> in which smoke from field burning near [[Albany, Oregon]], obscured the vision of drivers on [[Interstate 5 in Oregon|Interstate 5]], leading to a 23-car collision in which 7 people died and 37 were injured.<ref>[http://extension.oregonstate.edu/oap/story.php?S_No=72&storyType=oap&cmd=pf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060905210932/http://extension.oregonstate.edu/oap/story.php?S_No=72&storyType=oap&cmd=pf|date=September 5, 2006}}</ref> This resulted in more scrutiny of field burning and proposals to ban field burning in the state altogether.<ref>[http://www.westernlaw.org/our-work/field-burning/end-field-burning-in 2008] {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mortensen |first=Camilla |title=Blowing Smoke |url=http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/07/24/coverstory.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903080648/http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/07/24/coverstory.html |archive-date=2011-09-03 |access-date=2011-06-25 |publisher=Eugene Weekly}}</ref>

With controlled burns, there is also a risk that the fires get out of control. For example, the [[Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire]], the largest wildfire in the history of [[New Mexico]], was started by two distinct instances of controlled burns, which had both been set by the [[US Forest Service]], getting out of control and merging.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Romero |first1=Simon |date=21 June 2022 |title=The Government Set a Colossal Wildfire. What Are Victims Owed? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/21/us/new-mexico-wildfire-forest-service.html |access-date=8 November 2022 |work=New York Times}}</ref>

The conflict of controlled burn policy in the United States has roots in historical campaigns to combat wildfires and to the eventual acceptance of fire as a necessary ecological phenomenon. Following colonization of North America, the US used fire suppression laws to eradicate the indigenous practice of prescribed fire. This was done against scientific evidence that supported prescribed burns as a natural process. At the loss to the local environment, colonies utilized fire suppression in order to benefit the logging industry.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vinyeta |first=Kirsten |date=2021-10-12 |title=Under the guise of science: how the US Forest Service deployed settler colonial and racist logics to advance an unsubstantiated fire suppression agenda |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23251042.2021.1987608 |journal=Environmental Sociology |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=134–148 |doi=10.1080/23251042.2021.1987608 |issn=2325-1042 |s2cid=244604573|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The notion of fire as a tool had somewhat evolved by the late 1970s as the National Park Service authorized and administered controlled burns.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Rothman |first=Hal K. |title=A Test of Adversity and Strength: Wildland Fire in the National Park System |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |year=2005 |pages=186}}</ref> Following prescribed fire reintroduction, the [[Yellowstone fires of 1988]] occurred, which significantly politicized fire management. The ensuing media coverage was a spectacle that was vulnerable to misinformation. Reports drastically inflated the scale of the fires which disposed politicians in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana to believe that all fires represented a loss of revenue from tourism.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Franke |first=Mary Ann |url=https://archive.org/details/yellowstoneinaft00fran |title=Yellowstone in the Afterglow: Lessons from the Fires |year=2000 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/yellowstoneinaft00fran/page/41 41]}}</ref> Paramount to the new action plans is the suppression of fires that threaten the loss of human life with leniency toward areas of historic, scientific, or special ecological interest.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Forest Service Wilderness Fire Policy |url=http://www.wilderness.net/fire}}</ref>

There is still a debate amongst policy makers about how to deal with wildfires. Senators [[Ron Wyden]] and [[Mike Crapo]] of Oregon and Idaho have been moving to reduce the shifting of capital from fire prevention to fire suppression following the harsh fires of 2017 in both states.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Wyden renews call for Congress to fix wildfire funding |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/index.ssf/2017/09/wyden_renews_call_for_congress.html |access-date=2017-12-03 |work=OregonLive.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Tensions around fire prevention continue to rise due to the increasing prevalence of climate change. As drought conditions worsen, North America has been facing an abundance of destructive wildfires.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mueller |first1=Stephanie E. |last2=Thode |first2=Andrea E. |last3=Margolis |first3=Ellis Q. |last4=Yocom |first4=Larissa L. |last5=Young |first5=Jesse D. |last6=Iniguez |first6=Jose M. |date=2020-03-15 |title=Climate relationships with increasing wildfire in the southwestern US from 1984 to 2015 |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |language=en |volume=460 |pages=117861 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117861 |issn=0378-1127 |s2cid=212684658 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2020ForEM.46017861M }}</ref> Since 1988, many states have made progress toward controlled burns. In 2021, California increased the number of trained personnel to perform controlled burns and created more accessibility for landowners.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bill Text – AB-642 Wildfires. |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB642 |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=leginfo.legislature.ca.gov}}</ref>

=== Europe ===
In the European Union, burning crop stubble after harvest is used by farmers for plant health reasons under several restrictions in cross-compliance regulations.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 January 2024 |title=GAEC 6: Maintaining the level of organic matter in soil – Guide to cross compliance in England: 2016 – Guidance |url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guide-to-cross-compliance-in-england-2016/gaec-6-maintaining-the-level-of-organic-matter-in-soil |website=www.gov.uk}}</ref> [[File:Muir burn, Newlands Rig - geograph.org.uk - 3362290.jpg|alt=Muir burn in UK showing smokestack|thumb|Muir burn in UK]]

In the north of [[Great Britain]], large areas of [[grouse moors]] are managed by burning in a practice known as muirburn. This kills trees and grasses, preventing natural succession, and generates the mosaic of [[Calluna|ling]] (heather) of different ages which allows very large populations of [[red grouse]] to be reared for shooting.<ref name="foe">{{cite web |last1=Shrubsole |first1=Guy |last2=Cameron |first2=Alasdair |date=24 February 2019 |title=Friends of the Earth sparks moorland burning investigation |url=https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate-change/friends-earth-sparks-moorland-burning-investigation |access-date=30 October 2019 |publisher=Friends of the Earth}}</ref> The peat-lands are some of the largest carbon sinks in the UK, providing an immensely important ecological service. The governments has restricted burning to the area but hunters have been continuing to set the moors ablaze, releasing a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere and destroying native habitat.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dowler |first=Emma Howard, Crispin |date=2022-05-30 |title=Satellites reveal widespread burning on England's protected peatlands, despite government ban |url=https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2022/05/30/satellites-fires-burning-england-peatland-grouse-shooting/ |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=Unearthed |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Africa===
The [[Maasai people|Maasai ethnic group]] conduct traditional burning in [[Savanna|savanna ecosystems]] before the [[Wet season|rainy season]] to provide varied [[grazing]] land for livestock and to prevent larger fires when the grass is drier and the weather is hotter. In the past few decades, the practice of burning savanna has decreased because rain has become inadequate and unpredictable, there are more frequent occurrences of large accidental fires and [[Tanzania]]n government policies prevent burning savanna.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Butz |first=Ramona J. |date=2009 |title=Traditional fire management: historical fire regimes and land use change in pastoral East Africa |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wf07067 |journal=International Journal of Wildland Fire |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=442 |doi=10.1071/wf07067 |issn=1049-8001|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

{{Anchor|Field burning}}