Financial analysis of fuel treatments on national forests in the Western United States.

Abstract

The purpose of this note is to provide a starting point for discussion of fire hazard reduction treatments that meet the full range of management objectives, including budget priorities. Thoughtful design requires an understanding not only of the physical and biological outcomes, but also the costs and potential revenues of applying variations of fire hazard reduction treatments in a wide range of stand conditions. This analysis was done with My Fuel Treatment Planner software and provides estimates of cost and net revenue from fire hazard reduction treatments on 18 dry forest stands from 9 national forests in the Western United States. The data and software tools used in this analysis are all available, so these analyses can be easily modified to address a wider range of treatments and conditions.

Citation

Fight, Roger D.; Barbour, R. James. 2006. Financial analysis of fuel treatments on national forests in the Western United States. Res. Note PNW-RN-555. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 10 p