June 2020 • Nebraskaland 41
remain of the estimated 250,000 forested acres in the Pine
Ridge prior to the 1950s.
Simulating Nature
Where possible, land managers thin the forest in a way to
mimic nature. The result is decreased fuel loads and returning
forest structure to historic conditions. The ultimate goal is
sustainability.
In places such as Gilbert-Baker, however, the steep terrain
that gives the land aesthetic appeal eliminates most practical
means of thinning the forest. Moreover, while some pines
have been harvested in the region, the market has not been
strong enough to maintain high demand of timber there.
Thinning is a concept easily related during times of "social
distancing." If a fi re reaches the top of one pine, it will spread
to the crown of another nearby and continue raging as long
as it can. Thinning keeps fi res at an intensity low enough
that trees distanced appropriately can survive such events,
and the forest may even be better for them.
The project at Gilbert- Baker, where an old service road has
been cleared of pines at a width of about 100 yards, is a prime
example of methods being used throughout the Pine Ridge to
make immediate impact.
Fred McCartney of the Nebraska Forest Service facilitates
cost-share programs with private landowners and public land
managers to best leverage available money. Much inspiration
for his work, he said, comes from a fi rst thing fi refi ghters
want to know when responding to a blaze: "Where are the
sides of the box?"
That is, where is an accessible break in the trees where the
fi re can be stopped? Knowing such locations can help contain
wildfi re to established areas and prevent unrestrained spread
The U.S. Highway 385 corridor, which includes Chadron State Park and Chadron Creek Ranch Wildlife Management Area, has
been a focus area for creating a thinning buff er in the Pine Ridge.
Most of the wildlife management areas that were burned in 2012 have tree
regeneration that I do not see from other large fires like in 2006 and 1989. You can
walk through the '12 footprint and find 1- to 2-foot pines coming in.
— Rick Arnold, Game and Parks wildlife biologist in the Pine Ridge
