IN AFTERMATH OF FIRES, MUCH WORK TO BE DONE

posted by Michael Chihak

How can Arizona get its vast forest lands in shape to prevent a repeat of the devastating fires of nearly a decade ago in the White Mountains and Santa Catalina Mountains, and repeated in an even bigger way this summer in southern, central and northern Arizona?

Friday's Arizona Week broadcast will strive to answer, via interviews with up to five experts in forest management, fire history, forest ecology and the political will to bring together divergent interests.

We will focus on the causes and aftereffects of the Wallow Fire in the White Mountains and the Monument and Horseshoe 2 fires in Southern Arizona, including a look at long-term strategies for preventing such fires in the future.

The program's lineup of experts:

-- Cathleen Thompson, interagency coordinator for the Coronado National Forest Burned Area Emergency Response operation.

-- Rob Griffith, soil scientist with the Coronado National Forest working on post-fire conditioning to minimize erosion.

-- Stephen Pyne, Arizona State University fire historian.

-- Molly Hunter, Northern Arizona University forestry ecologist.

-- Maggie McCaffrey, program manager for the Udall Foundation's U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution.