Fire has been at work since the dawn of time, and plants and animals have evolved to not merely cope with fire, but depend on it. So before Steve and his colleagues could burn part of the site, the smallest trees, especially the fire-sensitive Douglas fir, were commercially logged. The researchers hired several outfits to try different methods, including logging with horses and a specially-equipped farm tractor to minimize impact on the land. Yellow Arnica , which only blooms after a blaze, grows near a charred tree in the Bitterroot fire area. But they do think they can restore healthier ecological function .
People worry about baby birds and chipmunks getting burned in a prescribed fire.
In forests, Steve contends, trees will die and decay, returning nutrients to the soil. Insects will kill some trees. Fire will burn a few. A direct hit on the study area probably wouldn't do much damage, though. It would just continue the job Steve Arno has begun.