Newswise — The raging Australian wildfires that have killed more than 200 people and destroyed some 1,800 homes over the last few weeks can "absolutely happen in the western United States at any time this year," says forest ecosystem expert Wallace Covington. Covington, a Regents' Professor of forest ecology at Northern Arizona University and director of its Ecological Restoration Institute, says that the region's ecosystems are in comprehensive decline—from the Alpine tundra to the lowest deserts. "Unless we return them to more natural, sustainable levels and restore healthy functioning landscapes, there is the potential for hundreds of lives to be lost."
Northern Arizona University's Ecological Restoration Institute combines research, education and service to help land managers and citizen stakeholders use the best available science to restore the ecological health of the land and the economic health of resource-dependent communities.
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