Field notes, explainers, and shorter analysis. Same standard of evidence as our reports, without the full apparatus.
In this recorded statement, Phil Aune warns that unsalvaged wildfire damage, delayed reforestation, and rising fuel loads are leaving a long-term legacy across western forests.
Former Forest Service special agent William Derr traces the history of the 10 A.M. Policy, critiques “let it burn” wildfire approaches, discusses H.R. 934, and calls for early detection, aggressive suppression, and stronger leadership.
This article calls for a renewed national response to destructive wildfires, urging stronger forest maintenance, aggressive initial attack, and a clear strategy to protect lives, communities, and natural resources
A 2004 warning ignored: environmental litigation, the ESA, and passive management have left 100 million acres of National Forest primed to burn — at $1 trillion a year
Dana Tibbitts examines backlash to USFS fire policy, with critics arguing “managed fire” strategies increase wildfire damage, public risk, and loss of forests and property.
A new sawmill registered weeks before the Caldor Fire. A $132M burn. Interlocking investors, USFS grants, and a "Stewardship" MOU now going national. Who benefits when 50 million acres are "treated"?
Part Two of “License to Burn” examines how mismanagement of the 2021 Caldor Fire, unchecked fuels, and post‑fire salvage logging turned a brushfire into a disaster and a business opportunity
An examination of wildfire policy, shared stewardship agreements, and public-private partnerships shaping fire management in the Western United States.
A report analyzing wildfire risks in the North Umpqua River basin, examining fuel conditions, fire behavior, and recommendations to reduce future catastrophic wildfire impacts.
A look at how active, landscape-scale forest restoration can reduce catastrophic wildfire risk, create rural jobs, restore wildlife habitat, and improve western forest health.
A short award-winning film by Rachel Hall uses the story of a drought-stressed forest to raise awareness about water loss, weakened tree roots, and the need for active forest management to reduce wildfire risk.
Forty years of Southern Oregon forest research reveals why crown fires keep devastating the Rogue River-Siskiyou — and what science-based management must change.
Breathing wildfire smoke for days can rival a pack-a-day smoking habit — and the science now proves it. Eight years after this essay was first written, the crisis is bigger, the policy failures deeper, and the smoke is still coming.
The 2016 National Wildfire Institute letter urges President Trump to restore active national forest management, reduce catastrophic wildfire risk, protect water, and revive rural economies.
Bruce Courtright examines whether the U.S. Forest Service can recover from litigation, wildfire costs, and organizational drift to restore effective forest management.
Learn who the pioneer smokejumpers were, how the first U.S. smokejumper program began in 1939, and which early jumpers shaped its history.
A paper from the archive on how indigenous peoples shaped the pre-Columbian Southeast, and what centuries of widespread burning mean for the rare species and ecosystems found there today.
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