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• past human activities that have changed vegetation 

 composition, structure, and function, 



• the exclusion of fire in fire dependent ecosystems (also 

 causing changes in vegetation composition, structure, and 

 function). 



In this testimony, I will only address the exclusion of fire in fire 

 dependent forests, specifically, in the ponderosa pine / Douglas-fir 

 forests. Because my time in front of this committee is short, at the 

 end of my statement I have attached answers to questions frequently 

 asked on this topic. (These questions and answers are modified from 

 those asked by Shawn Church, Associate Editor of the "Random 

 Lengths News Letter"). In this section you will find a synopsis 

 consisting of a statement of the problem, and what I think we must 

 do about it. Please enter my entire written statement into the record. 



Plate 1 is from the September, 1996, issue of the National Geographic 

 magazine. It is a computer image that illustrates: 



1. the current conditions of a fire deprived ponderosa pine / 

 Douglas-fir forest and the way it burns in a wildfire. The intensity 

 of the fire is high, dangerous to fire fighters and residents, and 

 destructive to natural resources. Old growth pines that survived 

 past fires are killed by this crown consuming wildfire. 



2. the historical forest when fire was a frequent visitor. It shows the 

 way the forest would have naturally burned. Frequent fires 

 maintained an open condition and assured that the historical 

 forest did not convert to a dense forest as illustrated above. With 

 fire restoration in the ponderosa pine / Douglas-fir forests, the 

 high intensity fires portrayed above are prevented. 



Fire is only temporarily suppressed in the dry, mixed conifer forests 

 found in the western states. When wildfire finally erupts the results 

 are greater fire intensities and rates of fire spread, flaming embers 

 traveling farther igniting new fires, and increased quantities of fuels 



