Natural History Wanderings

The New York Times reported on new research that questions if controlled burns are really a good way to manage our forests. The idea is that limited control burns help prevent catastrophic fires. New research is questioning the ecological consequences of preventing large fires. It is possible that large fires are ecologically necessary and that controlled burns may be decreasing biodiversity and diminishing ecological processes in the forests. Read more at the New York Times Forest Fire Research Questions the Wisdom of Prescribed Burns.