For the lack of a new fire policy, Yellowstone National Park officials will actively suppress all blazes in the park's confines.

"We will continue that until we have a new fire policy in place," said Marsha Karle, park spokeswoman. "We don't expect to have a new fire policy for at least a year if not longer."A "let burn" policy came under fire after 1.4 million acres in and around Yellowstone were scorched in 1988. In response, the federal government put a moratorium on the natural approach and ordered firefighters to battle all the blazes.

A procedure is taking a long time to develop because the National Parks Service and Forest Service are still evaluating what transpired two years ago and trying to mesh Yellowstone's approach with neighboring forests, Karle said.

Ed Lewis, director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, said it appears politics has slowed down the planning process.

"I am concerned that this deal may be resulting from political smoke rather than an effort to get these new policies in place," he said.

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Lewis said all postfire studies have recommended a continuation of the natural fire policy in the parks and wilderness areas, but apparently Yellowstone officials are reluctant to accept the recommendation.

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