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As the West grapples with increasingly large fires fueled by climate change and a century of misguided suppression policies, ecologists are reconsidering what forest restoration looks like in the 21st century.
Writing at Ensia, journalist and photographer Jim O'Donnell looked at several possible solutions. In some cases, including much of the Calf Canyon/Hermit's Peak megafire that burned in New Mexico this year, fires burn in the “right way”—cool enough to not kill every tree in its path. Many of those areas were covered with native grasses and flowers just a few months after the fire, signaling a healthy, natural restoration was already underway.
In other areas, the fire burned so hot that every plant died, including seeds in the soil. In those places, ecologists identify the highest-priority spots to re-seed.
“Site specificity matters,” explained Matthew Hurteau, a biology professor at the University of New Mexico. “In a drier zone that gets more sun we might do a mix of seedlings that includes drought-tolerant species like ponderosa pine, while a higher, wetter location might get a mix of other conifers.”
More controversially, scientists are looking at re-foresting areas with non-native trees that are more adapted to hotter, drier conditions. Certain pines from Mexico may be more resistant to crown fires that spread from treetop to treetop.
New Mexico state forester Laura McCarthy says that strategy “isn’t my first choice, but I say we follow the science and if the science tells us to do it, then let’s do it.”
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I think the favorite moments a lot of times are the simplest ones. It’s when you get that “aha” moment from a visitor, when you are talking to them about Yellowstone, and maybe it’s how Old Faithful erupts – just something as simple as that. How does it work? It’s not a clock. It’s not something that we schedule. It’s a natural feature that is variable. We are 
