Although the intentional use of fire to keep brush down is no longer as viable because of air quality regulations, we should learn from the Indians’ custom of actively controlling the land for the benefit of wildlife, and safety. The notion that the Indians preserved nature as if locked in amber is now being called "The Pristine Myth". The lesson we need to accept — that the Indians understood — is when nature is left to its own it may be bad for the environment. Too many snow geese can ruin wetlands, protected forests eventually rot and fall down, or burn (releasing way more carbon than new forests), and in California the environment is not clearly benefitting from the 20-30 foot high chaparral that has grown up in the hills surrounding Los Angeles — at least not as much as would grass and small shrubs animals could eat easily. We need a more dynamic approach to these public lands, perhaps cattle, goats or just clearing it by hand if necessary.
In Charles Mann’s book: "1491", his collaborative research argues the Indians dominated the hemisphere — humongous farms and cities in the Yucatan and South America, and in North America, the prairie. Crafted by Indians, the American prairie was a giant game park made by active use of fire. Annually burning the prairie kept trees to minimum and encouraged grasses to grow. This worked so well, buffalo once roamed in New York State. The 16th Century explorer de Soto walked through Florida with 300 head of cattle and 620 men and was not obstructed by "old growth" forests. A new picture of the past is emerging. It demonstrates the hands-off approach to nature is not preserving how the land was before white people arrived. And it shows there has not been pristine wilderness in the Americas in at least 900 years. This includes the Amazon rain forests, now thought to be the result of human forestry.
When a bee makes a honeycomb it is called a natural act. When humans manipulate nature it is called "unnatural". The Indians would have thought that a false distinction and they are right. We should have more active land management in Southern California’s forests and wildlands for the benefit of people and wildlife.