Researcher(s):
Lex Shapiro
ENVS course(s): 350 Initiated: April 2016 Completed: April 2016 Go to project site
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In 2002, over 500,000 acres were burned in southwestern Oregon due to a lightning storm. The fire was not fully contained until November, making it Oregon’s largest single-year, contiguous fire in recorded history. The fire left a mosaic of dead and live trees in its wake - a mess left to be dealt with by a variety of stakeholders, and it was, "once the smoke cleared, [that] the real controversies began". By analyzing how forests, fires, and land management are depicted in Biscuit Fire reports, I attempt to better understand what assumptions about reality inform contemporary land management conflicts. I urge those in positions to make land management decisions to understand realities variety, both by counting beyond two and by using metaphors as tools, to create solutions that account for differing perspectives and values.