This report is structured in four main sections. Section 1, the Introduction, reviews the historic role of fire, as practiced by indigenous peoples world-wide, in the management of seasonally-dry savanna forest ecosystems, and describes the impacts of European colonial history on those traditional practices and the ecosystems they sustained. Section 2 provides an overview of prescribed fire programs and experience in:
• the Pacific Northwest, including fire history studies and ongoing Garry oak rehabilitation programs in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California: and
• other North American savanna communities that provide lessons on general vegetation response, pre-burn/burn/post-burn monitoring, burn planning and management, smoke management and public consultation.
Section 3 distills major “lessons learned” from the programs described above, and Section 4 suggests a cautious, sequenced, carefully planned and monitored approach to the re-introduction of prescribed fire to Garry oak ecosystems on Vancouver Island.