Painting the Landscape with Fire

"This book is a tour de force exploring the myriad ecological connections within the longleaf pine ecosystem while demonstrating its total dependence upon natural and cultural fire for its continued existence."—Robert W. McFarlane, consulting ecologist, McFarlane & Associates, and author of A Stillness in the Pines: The Ecology of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker

"Painting the Landscape with Fire weaves three narratives into its masterful account of the longleaf-pine forest. The fascinating story of its distinctive ecosystem supports Den Latham's explanation of why both wildfires and controlled burns are increasingly recognized as essential to its health, while his profiles of numerous people who live and work in this forest contribute a rich cultural perspective as well as a skein of droll dialogue."—John Elder, author of Reading the Mountains of Home and co-editor of the Norton Book of Nature Writing

"Den Latham's Painting the Landscape with Fire is a helpful volume for anyone who wants to understand the importance of fire to the South's beautiful forests of longleaf pine. Focusing on the Sandhills region of South Carolina, Latham converses with landowners, foresters, botanists and biologists to show the challenges that forest managers face in using fire to manage forests in a rapidly developing South."—Larry Earley, author of Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest