Keeping forests healthy with more active management Exactly a
decade later and the current wildfire season is on track to
surpass 2002 as Colorado's worst. The High Park fire alone
burned nearly 90,000 acres and cost $33.5 million in suppression
costs alone. We are still reactively managing our forests for
fire instead of proactively managing them for sustainable
health. Spending large sums for fire management is not new. In
1991, the U.S. Forest Service spent about 13 percent of its
budget on fire suppression activities. Now, it spends nearly
half, meaning agencies have been forced to spend more on fire
suppression and less on recreation, wildlife and timber
management. There are reasons for this shift. Fire suppression
is more complex and more expensive because more people than ever
live in and around our forests. Fire seasons have become longer
and more intense as the climate has been warmer and drier. Much
of our forests are unhealthy after a century of fire suppression
and other human impacts. Since Colo