Indigenous Science and the Legacy of Fire: Resilience, Fuels, Mosaics, and Eco-cultural Landscapes in Oregon’s Coastal and Cascade Range

Author

Julia Alcalá, Portland State UniversityFollow

First Advisor

andres.holz@pdx.edu

Date of Award

Spring 6-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Environmental Science and University Honors

Department

Environmental Science

Language

English

Subjects

Indigenous fire stewardship, wet forests, ITECK, cultural burning, fire ecology

Abstract

Most of Oregon’s western Cascade and Coastal range is a landscape that has historically been considered devoid of mid to low-intensity fires by Western science. However, for time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have been stewarding the forests through the use of “good fire,” creating diverse and heterogenous landscapes with mixed fire regimes, ranging from less than a decade to several centuries since the last fire, resulting in a mosaic of patchy forest, oak savannas, prairies, and wetlands. Yet centuries of Indigenous displacement, cultural assimilation, and suppression of cultural burning contributed to this prevailing belief. Despite that, in recent decades, Western scientists have begun researching fire in these ecosystems and have reported higher fire activity than previously thought, but still fail to incorporate Indigenous science and perspectives, leaving vital ways of knowing out of the conversation. This study aims to integrate Indigenous and Western Ways of Knowing through a case study of the historic fire regimes, shaped by Indigenous cultural burning, of Oregon’s wet forests, to better inform present and future management practices, while centering Indigenous Ways of Knowing. Accordingly, this paper focuses on four major factors of Indigenous fire stewardship within this region: a) forest resilience, b) fire within wet forests, c) presence of landscape mosaics, and d) creating eco-cultural landscapes. This analysis is conducted through a literature review of the historical fire regimes of Oregon’s wet forests, Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITECK) practices specific to the region, and an examination of how the change in land use due to colonization has impacted historical fire regimes.

Recommended Citation

Alcalá, Julia, "Indigenous Science and the Legacy of Fire: Resilience, Fuels, Mosaics, and Eco-cultural Landscapes in Oregon’s Coastal and Cascade Range" (2025). University Honors Theses. Paper 1641.