USFS Wildland Fire-Use Program
Here is an excellent and educational article from the Ravalli Republic on the U.S. Forest Service's wildland fire-use program.
However, if you describe the wildland fire-use program as the Forest Service's "let burn" policy, you'll be quickly corrected.It's an honest mistake though, said Chris Ourada, incident commander for the Salmon-Selway complex, which is located almost entirely on the West Fork Ranger District.
He refers to Yellowstone National Park and the summer of 1988, when lightning-caused fires burned nearly 800,000 acres and changed the face of the America's first national park.
At the time, the park's policy was to allow naturally caused fires to burn. That meant they didn't really have any management options, Ourada said.
But in the wildland fire-use program, fire managers have the same options available as they would on a fire they would actively suppress, the only difference is wildland fire-use fire is used for resource benefits, he said.
If you want to understand how important wildland fire is in maintaining a healthy forest, you should read the whole thing.
