Prescribed fire and the U.S.D.A. forest service : implementation barriers in the Southern Appalachians

Fire is an evolutionary force that has shaped the Southern Appalachian landscape for millennia. Cultural fire, particularly, has played a significant role in the development of upland forests by creating a mosaic of cover and thus enhancing forest diversity. Throughout most of this century, however, a move to suppress all fires has prevented fire from playing its natural role in Southern Appalachian ecosystems. Today, the Forest Service is reintroducing cultural fire by calling for increased use of "prescribed" fire in meeting land management goals.

Fire has been absent in Southern Appalachian ecosystems for several decades, and restoring these ecosystems through prescribed fire has raised questions and concerns about implementation obstacles. The overall goal of this study is to examine prescribed fire implementation in the Southern Appalachians to better understand factors that may constrain such activity. To meet this goal, face-to-face surveys were conducted with Forest Service personnel involved with fire management in the Southern Appalachians.

The results of this study, based on interviewee responses, suggest that fire managers in the Southern Appalachians are highly supportive of the prescribed fire program, but prescribed fire implementation is constrained by specific factors such as burning parameters, availability of burning days, and manpower shortages. Important differences across National Forests were noted in how prescribed fire implementation is organized. In addition, interviewees felt that an improved monitoring and post-bum evaluation system could increase effectiveness of prescribed fire by supplying a database for fire effects and behavior.