Michael A. Munoz, District Ranger, USDA FS, R1, Helena-Lewis and Clark NF(HLF), Rocky Mountain Ranger District (RMRD)., michael.munoz@usda.gov 

Mike Munoz has 35 years of service with the USDA FS.  On the first day of summer in 2020, he will have served 21 years as District Ranger on the expansive RMRD of the HLF. In prior years, Mike worked in the Great Northern Plains of the Custer NF; the Colorado Plateau of the Coconino NF; the Rocky Mountains of the Beaverhead NF; and Basin and Range country of the Toiyabe NF.  Mike’s fire-line qualifications as division group supervisor have since lapsed, but he now serves fire management as an Advanced Agency Administrator; and especially enjoys the aspects of managing wildland fire and prescribed fire for the benefit of the landscape.  The job of ‘Rangering’ remains the best job he has experienced, offering the opportunity to engage people and influence others in how we relate to and serve as stewards in Caring for the Land. 

ABSTRACT

Managing Wildland Fire for Landscape Benefit and Beyond 

If water is life, then soil is the medium of life and fire plays a role in renewal of the vegetative, soil and watershed landscape.  In the fire adapted ecosystems of the Northern Rockies, the Creator apparently has a purpose for lightning.  And it’s up to humanity (us) to adapt to what we’ve been given, especially more-so in our planet’s rapidly changing climate.  In 1981, USDA Forest Service personnel began managing lightning-caused fires for natural processes in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.  And today, we continue the practice for the benefit of both the landscape and people, including present and future generations.