.. As Usual
.. NOT TO WORRY
.. WATER STILL RUNS DOWNHILL
<- nps photo
.. Once again people in the news business, the blog business, the tourism industry, the postcard industry, the photography industry, and the environmental movement are pretending that a fire in Yellowstone National Park is news worthy and note worthy.
.. It may be note worthy - but just barely. It is no more unusual than pine trees growing. How many blogs about pine tree growth in Yellowstone are there? How many headlines are generated because water is running downhill in Yellowstone?
<- Water Running Downhill
.. The Magpie Fire is generating print as if this was the end of the world. It's not. Fires are one of the last bits of wilderness left in Yellowstone. They are to be cherished as the creators that they are.
.. They build a vegetative mosaic that is healthy and necessary for the diversity that Yellowstone is known for. They poke holes in the "Lodgepole Desert," that dominates the park. They let in light for grasses and bushes and flowers. They provide for a rejuvenated ecosystem. They don't sell postcards.
<- nps photo
.. Fires should be celebrated rather than decried in print. The administrators of Yellowstone National Park have fallen prey to the panic mentality too. They issue daily press releases as if the little fire was news. Imagine the following as a press release: "Water still flowing downhill in Yellowstone Rivers." That should make the wire services!
.. There is a fine map of the location of the Magpie Fire, HERE, if you are interested. Yellowstone has produced a Wildland Fire Document. And, References & Links for those people interested.
.. When fires occur in Yellowstone, people want to talk about 1988. If you are one of those folks, there is a giant body of information about that regeneration event HERE.
.. With all the wailing and gnashing of teeth; we are reminded of a guest editorial on a related topic in New West. The editorial pointed out how neo-environmentalists unthinkingly embrace science for some things and not others. The quote that sticks in our mind is: "Their angst is a mix of neo-Luddism, Marxism, and ascetic environmentalism."
.. These are the same folks that hate snowmobiles and love diesel tour busses. These are the same folks that believe the National Park Service should concentrate on the exclusion of people rather than the inclusion of people. These are the same people who don't understand the difference between a wilderness area, a national park, and a national forest - and the function of each in our society. These people want to visit a postcard. They also want to own the postcard.
.. Fire is important to The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It rejuvenates and cleanses the system. It needs a social equivalent in the National Park Service & the Emotive Environmentalist movement.
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OTHER FIRE RESOURCES
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.. FAA no fly zone for Magpie Fire
.. Northern Rockies Fire Coordinating Group
.. MODIS Large Incidents Map
.. MODIS Web Mapping (find your fire)
.. National Fire News
.. NASA Earth Observatory
.. The world is always on fire,
MODIS Rapid Response System
.. Forest Fire Screen Saver
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