BOOK REVIEW
By Don Amador
March 4, 2024
*This book is of
particular import to the motorized trail community and outdoor enthusiasts who
use motorized routes to access non-motorized areas. Without the conservation efforts by Roosevelt
and Pinchot over a century ago, most, if not all, of our FS and BLM recreation
areas today would be owned by private interests and guarded by locked gates and
posted with no trespassing signs. Trail
users owe these and other visionaries a great deal of thanks.
THE BIG BURN – How a Massive 1910 Wildfire Saved the
Forest Service and Preserved Access to Public Lands for Future Generations
As a native of the Pacific Northwest and an outdoor
recreation enthusiast and advocacy lead for the last 33 years, I had some knowledge
of the role that President Teddy Roosevelt and the former Chief of the USDA
Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot, had in setting aside vast amounts of
timberlands in the West for the use and enjoyment of the American People and
creating the FS in 1905 to manage those public lands for future generations.
However, I was not aware of the intense amount of
opposition they faced by Congress and private sector interests to block
reservation of those lands for public use and to hamstring the agency with
staffing challenges, very little if any forestry tools, no wildland fire
training, and a very limited or nonexistent road and trail network.
Fortunately for me, a longtime friend and retired FS
Recreation Officer, gave me THE BIG BURN, a book written by award winning
author, Timothy Egan, that takes a deep dive into the conditions and other
factors that led up to the Big Burn Fire, the largest wildfire in U.S history,
that burned approximately 3 million acres of forested lands in Idaho, Montana,
and Washington in the summer of 1910.
I was inspired that a relatively small number of Forest
Rangers could muster a large and diverse corps of local residents, business
owners, railroad workers, Buffalo Soldiers from the 25th Infantry,
outdoorsmen, frontier women, and others to try and save lives, property, and
natural resources that were in the path of this wind-driven firestorm.
The book helped me better appreciate the vision for
conservation of public lands and the grit both Roosevelt and Pinchot displayed
in their fight against the many enemies they had. And, it let me get to know the heroism and
leadership shown by FS personnel such as Ed Pulaski (inventor of the Pulaski
trail tool) as they rallied largely untrained forces to fight the fire.
I believe this is a must read book for FS/BLM staff and private
sector partners who are engaged with recreation management, forest health/fuel
projects, forest planning, wildfire suppression, and post-wildfire mitigation
efforts.
For those who have experienced first-hand the devastating
impact that an intense wildfire can have on forested lands that we live, work,
or recreate on, this literary journey will most likely bring back painful memories
but the hope it offers is worth it.
###
Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation
management profession for over 33 years. Don writes from his home in
Cottonwood, CA. Don is President of
Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don serves as the Western States Representative for
the Motorcycle Industry Council. Don is Past President/CEO and current board
member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance. Don served as a contractor
to the BlueRibbon Coalition from 1996 until June, 2018. Don served on the
California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission from 1994-2000. He
has won numerous awards including being a 2016 Inductee into the Off-Road
Motorsports Hall of Fame and the 2018 Friend of the AMA Award. Don served as
the government affairs lead for AMA District 36 in Northern California from
2019 – 2023. Don is a Core-Team member on FireScape Mendocino. Don is a contributor to Dealernews Magazine.
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