A primary goal in the management of forests and grasslands is to maintain community structure and disturbance processes within their historical range of variation. If, within a managed ecosystem, either is found to lie outside that range, restoration may be necessary. Both maintenance and restoration are currently guided by the principles of ecosystem management, which relies on knowledge of both historical processes and current ecosystem conditions (Forest Ecosystem Management Team 1993). In ecosystems historically sustained by fire, site-specific fire regime data can be combined with information on present composition and structure to design ecologically appropriate restoration and management prescriptions. While this approach to restoring fire-adapted ecosystems is appropriate for many publicly managed forests, it is actually mandated for U.S. Forest Service-designated Research Natural Areas (RNA). Research Natural Areas are established as examples, of forests or grasslands, that most closely represent historical vegetation and wildlife habitat, and that are largely products of natural disturbance processes and ecosystem succession (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1994).