8.10 Evaluating New Information

Woodlands are some of the most important communities in Canada. Rich with diversity, we see them as permanent and unchanging places, filled with wildlife, which we wish to preserve. We began fighting wildfires in a systematic way around the turn of the last century; historic photographs show people building fire lines and shovelling dirt over smoldering spots in our woodlands. In the past 30 years, however, there have been increased discussions about the automatic response of immediately quelling all wildfires—perhaps some wildfires do more good than harm. Afer all, change from storms, fires, and floods is part of the natural cycle of an ecosystem.

Read the following articles about wildfires and ecology:

• An overview of wildfires (geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/wildlandfire.htm)
• A history of humans and wildfires (www.foresthistory.org/Education/Curriculum/Activity/activ9/essay.htm)
• The ecology of fire (www.onearth.org/blog/forest-service-appears-to-shift-controversial-and-shortsighted-firefighting-policy)
• Logging and fires (www.emagazine.com/magazine-archive/the-burning-west)
• Prescribed fires (www.bcwildfire.ca/prevention/PrescribedFire/)
• Spending on fires (www.emagazine.com/includes/print-article/magazine-archive/6631)

Evaluate the websites and work with the information to answer the following questions: