The lodgepole forest near the western entrance to the park has been developing since 1929, when fire destroyed the redcedar-hemlock forest in the area between Apgar and West Glacier. Beneath the scattered spires of old larch that survived the burn, the lodgepoles have now grown up, forming a canopy that shades the forest floor. Because lodgepole live only about 80 years and will not germinate in shade, this forest will not exist long. Shade-tolerant Douglas-fir, white pine, Engelmann spruce and western redcedar seedlings are now taking hold. But the physical characteristics of this area—the climate, terrain, and soil—are ultimately most favorable for western redcedar and hemlock; and unless other disruptions intervene, this area will eventually again become a dense redcedar-hemlock forest. But this will not happen quickly. The soil after hundreds of years of collecting debris will again become rich and moist. Young hemlocks will germinate on and near decaying logs. When old larches, firs, and pines fall, the slow-growing redcedars and hemlocks will take their places in the canopy. Forest succession is a more complicated story than this; it is a fascinating study involving herbs, shrubs, small and large trees, and animal populations. From location to location it will vary; only in its broad outlines is it predictable. It is based on the observation that, given time, a forest—or any other plant community—will progress until it reaches climax—that is, the stage that will perpetuate itself. ■ How then are we to think about fire? Increasingly, experts are concerned not so much with fire suppression as with fire management. For suppression has at least three disadvantages: it allows the accumulation of unburned fuels that can result in “fire storms” when they are finally ignited; an undiversified climax forest is more vulnerable to disease than is a mixed forest; and a dense forest canopy discourages shrub growth, an important food source for deer, wapiti, moose, and smaller animals. As the well-being of the deer herd depends on the predators that thin its numbers, so the long-term well-being of the forest depends on fire to rejuvenate it periodically. We must realize that wilderness is identified with fire, landslide, avalanche, windfall, and flood. Nature not only has learned to cope with these agents of change—she depends upon them for maintaining the delicate balances between landscape and life. There is in the business of nature, after all, more than the pleasing of man’s eye. Spruce Morning Of all times to get a rock in my boot! I had just started out, the morning was still cool in this eastern valley, and the heavy pack was not yet biting into my shoulders. Sitting down beside the trail, I leaned the pack against the base of an old spruce and began unlacing.