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Accepting risk in a fire-adapted landscape is a necessary part of forest living. While protecting house and home is a major concern in the Swan Valley, further out in the forest, away from structures, the goal may be to promote forest resiliency while reducing risk.

With careful planning and some knowledge of the growth requirements of trees and understory species, a stewardship plan can address fire safety, forest resiliency, and habitat for a diversity of wild plants and animals.

Woody debris masticated and spread on the ground to reduce flame heights and retain nutrients.

Take care of the soil
Excessive amounts of woody debris can increase the risk of fire igniting and spreading through the understory, especially if trees are growing close together and branches are close to the ground. Yet woody debris on the forest floor is a valuable forest asset; as it decomposes it replenishes soil nutrients.

When reducing forest fuels far from houses and outbuildings, it’s beneficial to leave more woody debris on the forest floor than would be safe near structures.

Fire risk can be reduced by masticating and scattering woody debris on site, or by machine "trampling" the slash to reduce flame heights and speed the decomposition of fine woody material.

Masticator demonstration
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Consider the forest setting
Dry pine sites
High densities of small and young trees can carry an understory fire into the canopy. In a dry ponderosa pine stand on the east side of the Swan Valley, thinning the understory and treating ground fuels can be a straight-forward and ecologically beneficial solution. Open stand conditions with relatively small quantities of woody debris are conducive to ponderosa pine regeneration and survival.

Cool moist sites
On cool moist sites, particularly on the west side of the Swan Valley, stands naturally have higher tree densities and larger amounts of downed woody material. Fires here naturally burn less frequently and with higher intensity.

The trees that have adapted to the west side of the valley, and to shady pockets on the east side, are the species most likely to be fully consumed in a wildfire. Planning gets complicated when you want to promote the trees designed by Nature to thrive in cool wet areas, while also reducing fire risk.

Mixed forest thinned to enhance vigor and reduce fire risk. Woody debris has been masticated and spread across the ground.

Use fire breaks
For both cool moist and dry sites, consider prevailing winds and natural fire breaks like streams and wetlands. You might accept more risk in places where fuel breaks will slow a fire, but take less risk if there is a continuous forest canopy up wind.

Landscape features like rivers, wetlands, and openings created by logging can slow a wildfire.

Consider the lay of the land
In the Swan Valley, most of the land is shaped by small ridges and valleys that face in various compass directions. A typical 20-acre parcel may have several micro-habitats: damp sites favoring shade-lovers like grand fir and spruce; cooler, drier sites more suitable for lodgepole, larch and Douglas-fir; and warm dry sites where ponderosa might thrive. Make use of these variations and openings in the forest to promote diversity and interrupt a wildfire.

Promote diversity for wildlife
If maintaining wildlife habitat is a goal, you'll want a variety of trees, shrubs and smaller plants in your forest. You may be able to create a mosaic of small clearings intermixed with open and dense stands of varying sizes and shapes, giving careful thought to the species' preferences for micro-habitats. Well-spaced openings can slow a fire and prevent the loss of an entire forest. And a mosaic allows you to select the best sites for the optimum growth of individual tree and wildlife species.

To benefit wildlife, maintaining connectivity with strips of dense cover away from houses and outbuildings can enable bears, lions, and wolves to move across your property without entering your yard. Dense patches of forest are warmer in winter and cooler in summer, providing "thermal" cover for deer, elk and moose. Connected strips of cover can be separated by open patches to interrupt a canopy fire.


Maintain access for firefighting
Access for firefighting equipment and escape routes should be designed into any forest stewardship plan. Water sources should be mapped and equipment should be available for their use. The lives of firefighters should never be at stake.

For more information
Visit Firewise and Montana DNRC for information on reducing fire risk near homes and outbuildings.