Symposium on Fire Ecology Planned

George Wuerthner, author of "Wild Fire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy," will give presentation on fire ecology February 14 and 15 at Idaho State University in Pocatello. The symposium starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 14, in the Salmon River Suite of the Student Union Building at Idaho State University in Pocatello. Wuerthner will answer questions about his presentation from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday February 15 in the Salmon River Suite. Also Thursday morning, the public is invited to discuss the issues Wuerthner raises in his presentation and other topics related to fire ecology and forest and range land management. The free presentation is sponsored by the South East Idaho Environmental Network. Wuerthner will cover basic fire ecology in major ecosystems and how that influences fire behavior and consequences. He will cover related wildland-urban interface issues, and other issues that are a consequence of national fire policies, such as forest thinning to reduce fuels, salvage logging and fire restoration efforts. Myths identified and debunked by Wuerthner include: - Fire is bad and needs to be suppressed. - Big fires are the result of too much fuel. - Logging mimics fire. - Big fires can be stopped. - Fire destroys forests and wildlife. - Fire sterilizes the land. - North American landscapes were widely managed by Native American fire use. - Livestock grazing can prevent fires. - Salvage logging after a fire is necessary to restore forests. - Prescribed burning is an adequate substitute for wildfire. In addition to the book on wildfire, Wuerthner has 1 33 other books and hundreds of articles. His main interests include predators, rangeland ecology, fire ecology and bio-geography. He has worked for government land management agencies, as a contract conservation biologist, high school teacher, university instructor, and most recently as the ecological projects director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology. For more information, contact Dr. M. Keene Hueftle 208-232-8862 from 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.