The WildeBeat

Thu, May 08, 2008

Bad Fire, Good Fire, part 2

Posted at 09:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is part two of a look at the effects of wild fires. Smoky the Bear says, only you can prevent wild fires. But sometimes you can't, and in some ways, that's not all bad. (Part 1 is here.)

Wild fires burned through three major wilderness areas in California late last summer:

• The Dick Smith Wilderness in the Los Padres National Forest was burned by the Zaca Fire.
• The San Rafael Wilderness in the Los Padres National Forest was burned by the Zaca Fire.
• The Orestimba Wilderness in Henry Coe State Park was burned by the Lick Fire.

Steve talks with fire ecologist Jon Keely of the United States Geologic Survey about whether fire irreparably damages wild lands. Winslow Briggs, director emeritus for the Carnagie Institute of Science, is studying the recovery of plants in Henry Coe State Park. He talks about what survived, what's coming back, and how he knows. Jon Keely talks about what to look for when you explore a place that has burned, and some things to discover and appreciate.

WildeBeat members can download extended bonus interviews with Winslow Briggs and Jon Keely from our WildeBeat Insider's web pages.

• Show number 137 [MP3 format; length 9:56; 2,386,410 bytes]
• Combined show numbers 136 & 137 [MP3 format; length 20:44; 19,910,396 bytes]
• Show number 137 script
• Show number 136 & 137 combined script
• Photo Album from Henry Coe S.P.

Tue, May 06, 2008

Thanks to Wilderness.net

Posted at 08:00

/blog/recognition [link ]

Wilderness.net is a reference web site maintained as a partnership project of the Wilderness Institute at the University of Montana's College of Forestry and Conservation, the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute.

Wilderness.net has chosen to feature the WildeBeat on their main page. We thank them.

One very useful feature of the Wilderness.net site is their Find a Wilderness feature. Use it to find detailed information on over 700 of the protected wilderness areas in the U.S.

Mon, May 05, 2008

Become our Fan on Facebook

Posted at 19:30

/blog/news [link ]

If you're a user of Facebook and a fan of the WildeBeat, you can become our fan on Facebook.

Just go to the WildeBeat page on Facebook and click on become a fan.

Thu, May 01, 2008

Bad Fire, Good Fire, part 1

Posted at 09:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is part one of a look at the effects of wild fires. Smoky the Bear says, only you can prevent wild fires. But sometimes you can't, and in some ways, that's not all bad.

We play a part of a TV news report about a wild fire that burned about half of California's Henry Coe State Park. This park contains the nearest wilderness area to us, the Orestimba Wilderness.

Kathleen Good tells us about the largest of last year's wild fires in California, the Zaca Fire in the Los Padres National Forest, which burned both the Dick Smith Wilderness and the San Rafael Wilderness.

Steve tours the damage at Henry Coe State Park with ranger John Verhoeven.

Ben Lawhon, education director for the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, reminds us about responsible use of fire on backcountry and wilderness outings.

Next week, in part 2, scientists study what happens to a wild place after a fire.

• Show number 136 [MP3 format; length 9:54; 2,378,785 bytes]
• Show number 136 script

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