U.S. Joint Fire Science Program

 

Date of this Version

2009

Document Type

Article

Citation

Fire Science Brief, Issue 47, May

Comments

US government work.

Abstract

In fire management, there is an ongoing quest to find cost-effective, ecologically sound, and risk-reducing approaches to restoring dry conifer forests. So far little is known about the effectiveness of using mastication equipment in conjunction with prescribed burning to help meet management and restoration goals. Richy Harrod is the Deputy Fire Management Offi cer at the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Wenatchee, Washington. He and his colleagues began to address this knowledge gap and found that mastication may be a cost-effective and important tool for managers looking for additional support for prescribed burns. Mastication in this study appears to help meet restoration goals, and is comparable in cost to other methods. Furthermore, mastication and burning took place in the same year. According to their fi ndings, any mastication effort helped support prescribed burning goals.

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