“Untrammeling the Wilderness: Restoring Natural Conditions Through the Return of Human-ignited Fire” hosted by Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
“Untrammeling the Wilderness: Restoring Natural Conditions Through the Return of Human-ignited Fire” with Clare Boerigter and Jonathan Coop
Hosted by Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and Wilderness Workshop
Thursday March 6 2025 at 6pm
Pitkin County Library
120 N Mill St
Aspen, CO 81611
About the Presentation
Historical and contemporary policies and practices have resulted in over a century of fire exclusion across much of the US. Within designated wilderness areas, the exclusion of fire constitutes a fundamental and ubiquitous act of trammeling. Here we present a framework assessing the substantial, long-term, and negative effects of fire exclusion on the natural conditions of fire-adapted wilderness ecosystems, including unnatural fuel loads and anomalously severe fires, compounded by a warmer and drier climate. To untrammel more than a century of fire exclusion, human-ignited fire may be critical to restoring the natural character of fire-adapted wilderness landscapes while also supporting ecocultural restoration efforts sought by Indigenous peoples.
Learn more about ACES, the Naturalist Nights series, and upcoming speakers here.