If a contest were held to select the world's greatest teacher, Mother Nature would receive many votes. Her style is unique in that she teaches from example and rarely announces an exam. As a student of nature, you will need to do lots of field work - closely observe and expect the unexpected. 

Because fire can be beneficial or destructive, it is a hard lesson to learn. But destruction is often greater when we interfere with its natural cycle. Since the first Euro-American settlements in the 1880s until the early 1970s, fire was immediately suppressed. As a result, many of the forests have become crowded and stagnant with large amounts of forest debris. Increases in dead material has meant more fuel is available to produce hotter, more destructive fires.

At Wind Cave National Park, managers are attempting to catch up with the fire cycle, yet reduce the odds of fire spreading to buildings or neighboring lands. To reduce fuels, managers remove part of the forest's understory. The tree stumps in front of you serve as an example. However, beyond the fence no fuels were removed. In 1991, a wildfire burned this area. Comparing the forest beyond the fence with the one here, you can see how fuel removal reduced the severity of the fire in the campground. Removal of fuels may become less common as prescribed burns allow us to catch up with fire's natural cycle.