// BEGIN editorial data
 var i = 0;
var prescribedburns = new Array();
prescribedburns.ID = "prescribedburns";
prescribedburns.ID_WB = 3662466;
prescribedburns.sPubDate = "9/29/2005 10:25:45 PM GMT";
prescribedburns.navsectionID = "3032492"
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prescribedburns.appHeader = "fact file|Prescribed burns";
prescribedburns.appFooter = "Source: MSNBC";
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prescribedburns[i++] = new Array("","","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
prescribedburns[i-1].body = "The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 39 million acres of national forests are highly vulnerable to major wildfires. Setting intentional fires to thin the forests out, called controlled burning, is a key strategy to ease the danger. Click the links on the left to learn about potential benefits.";

prescribedburns[i++] = new Array("","Reduce hazardous fuels","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
prescribedburns[i-1].body = "Prescribed fires reduce dangerous accumulations of combustible fuels. Wildfires that burn into areas where fuels have been reduced by prescribed burning cause less damage and are easier to control. ";

prescribedburns[i++] = new Array("","Disposal of logging debris","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
prescribedburns[i-1].body = "After a tree harvest, limbs and stems are often left scattered throughout the logging area. A prescribed fire is one way to eliminate this waste; broadcast burning, where the remaining lumber is burned in circular piles, is generally a better alternative. ";

prescribedburns[i++] = new Array("","Prepare sites for seeding and planting","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
prescribedburns[i-1].body = "Fire can consume debris before planting season, expose adequate mineral soil, control competing vegetation and recycle soil nutrients for the next generation of trees and other vegetation. For example, in the Flint Hills of Kansas, ranchers routinely burn back the tall prairie grass each winter to promote vigorous new spring growth.";

prescribedburns[i++] = new Array("","Improve wildlife habitat","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
prescribedburns[i-1].body = "Prescribed burns can help wildlife species that benefit from a more open habitat. Deer, dove, Florida panthers, tortoises and the redcockaded Woodpecker are a few of the species that benefit. Fruit and seed production are also stimulated.";

prescribedburns[i++] = new Array("","Management of competing vegetation","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
prescribedburns[i-1].body = "Full-grown trees often crowd out the next generation. Seedlings need sunlight, and controlled burning is one way to create holes in the forest canopy. This method is often used in the Sequoia forests of California and Nevada.";

prescribedburns[i++] = new Array("","Control insects and disease","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
prescribedburns[i-1].body = "Prescribed burning can reduce the number of trees affected by diseases such as root rot or brownspot, by not allowing them to spread to uninfected trees. An alternative to chemicals, controlled burns are also used to kill pests, such as the white pine cone beetle.";

prescribedburns[i++] = new Array("","Improve access","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
prescribedburns[i-1].body = "Controlled burns can be used to create visibility and access for hunters, hikers and loggers.";

prescribedburns[i++] = new Array("","Fire-dependent species","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
prescribedburns[i-1].body = "There are species that actually benefit from fire and are more likely to perpetuate. They include some orchids.";

	// END editorial data