Using Fire to Manage Aesthetics

Like timber, minerals, water, and other resources, beauty is a palpable resource that can be managed, degraded, improved, and commercially exploited (Chenoworth 1991).  Numerous management techniques can be used to minimize the negative effects of prescribed burning.

• Prescribed burning can be used to improve the aesthetics of a site by removing or reducing slash.  Studies have shown that the public dislikes recently logged sites and using fire to reduce slash after a harvest is one way to offset the negative impact of logging activities (Brush 1979; Ribe 1989). 
• The apparent size of a burn can be reduced by leaving unburned islands to create a mosaic pattern of burned and unburned areas; these unburned patches should be large enough to be relevant to observers.
• Precautions should be taken along roadsides to prevent the intense fires and associated tree trunk char and needle scorch that usually occur with increased turbulence and updrafts near roadways.  If possible, managers should not burn too close to roadways.  However, the situation may differ in some communities in the Coastal Plain where burning near roadways creates vistas through pinelands. One problem managers have, particularly along roadways is what is called the hedge effect.  Fires are often less intense as they are being set (often along the roads) so shrubs are able to survive and make a hedge that obstruct views and affect fire behavior in subsequent burns.
• Prescribed burning could either be done during periods of low recreation use and during the tourist off-season (Gobster 1999) or, if managers are backlogged on their burning needs, they should burn whenever possible.  In the latter case, burning when people are around also gives a chance to educate visitors about fire.
• Understanding observer criteria such as observer distance, duration or viewing time, and aspect will help predict personal reactions to a burn. 

Prescribed burning also can be used to improve the aesthetics of a stand of trees by removing dense, impenetrable underbrush.  Controlling the timing and frequency of prescribed burns is important in achieving this objective.  Burns conducted in the growing season are generally accepted as having a greater negative impact on hardwood sprouts than burns that take place in the winter.  Increased hardwood sprouts after burning would be a negative impact of an improperly planned prescribed burn.  For example, one of the least desirable sites in a study conducted by Brush (1979) was a site that had severely burned about twenty years before the study.  The site was full of vines and hardwood stump sprouts and did not appear as an open, park-like forest.  In order to reduce stump sprouts and dense brush, burning may have to be repeated numerous times, especially where starting conditions include dense shrubs and other understory plants.

The public prefers the long-term effects of fire more than they prefer the short-term effects of fire or logging (Loomis and others 2000: 12).  Although visual appeal can be lower immediately following prescribed burning, burning can improve visual appeal over time (Anderson and others 1982; Gobster 1999; Taylor and Daniel 1984).  The intensity of a fire can influence public acceptance.  Landscapes that have been affected by light fires are preferred over those burned by high intensity fires.  Severe burns may kill overstory trees and leave other visible effects for a long time.  Other potentially negative aspects of prescribed fire include smoke, ash, and blackened forest floor, but these aspects generally disappear in a very short time.  Generally, the more knowledge people have of fire, the more likely they are to support fire management activities, except in the case of scenic quality where more knowledge does not necessarily increase support (Taylor and Others 1984).