The 2000 and 2002 fire seasons were, by most standards, among the worst in the past. Many argue that the threat of severe wildfires has grown, because of unnaturally high fuel loads (e.g., dense undergrowth undergrown and dead trees), raising concerns about damage to property and homes in the 'wildland-urban interface' (WUI) -- homes in or near forests. Debates about fire control and protection, including funding and fuel treatment (e.g., thinning and prescribed burning), have focused on national forests and other federal lands, but nonfederal lands are also at risk. This new book explores the latest issues dealing with wildfires, the consequences that they sow and what means are being used to prevent and protect the environment and the local populations. CONTENTS: Preface; Wildfire Protection: Legislation in the 107th Congress (Ross W. Gorte); Wildfire Protection in the 108th Congress (Ross W. Gorte); Timber Harvesting and Forest Fires (Ross W. Gorte); Forest Fire Protection (Ross W. Gorte); Forest Fires and Forest Health (Ross W. Gorte); Managing the Impact of Wildfires on Communities and the Environment (A Report to the President); Forest Fire/Wildfire Protection (Ross W. Gorte)

The environment consists of the surroundings in which an organism operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans and their interrelation. It is this environment which is both so valuable, on the one hand, and so endangered on the other. And it is people which are by and large ruining the environment both for themselves and for all other organisms. This book presents important new research on a wide variety of topics in this field.