Wildland Fire Use - Challenges Associated With Program Management Across Multiple Ownerships and Land Use Situations

Abstract

The application and use of wildland fire for a range of beneficial ecological objectives is rapidly expanding across landscapes supporting diverse vegetative complexes and subject to multiple societal uses. Wildland fire use originated in wilderness and has become a proven practice successful in meeting ecological needs. The use of wildland fire in non-wilderness is emerging as an important practice but its success is predicated on the acknowledgment of the fundamental inseparability and equal importance of ecological, social, and economic needs and requirements. The 2005 western fire season resulted in the single largest scale application of wildland fire use in non-wilderness to date and illustrated that managing wildland fire use in these areas is associated with a higher level of complexity driven by a number of elements including: spatial scale differences; presence of multiple ownerships and increased values to be protected; increased needs to plan and implement mitigation actions; temporal scale differences for implementing mitigation actions; greater social and economic concerns and needs; and increased public information needs. Continuing expansion of wildland fire use implementation across federal, state, and private land ownerships and all land use situations will encounter additional influences and new challenges, situations not previously experienced, and ancillary implementation questions which could potentially limit program growth and development.

Parent Publication

• Fuels Management-How to Measure Success: Conference Proceedings

Citation

Zimmerman, Thomas; Frary, Michael; Crook, Shelly; Fay, Brett; Koppenol, Patricia; Lasko, Richard. 2006. Wildland Fire Use - Challenges Associated With Program Management Across Multiple Ownerships and Land Use Situations. In: Andrews, Patricia L.; Butler, Bret W., comps. 2006. Fuels Management-How to Measure Success: Conference Proceedings. 28-30 March 2006; Portland, OR. Proceedings RMRS-P-41. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 47-58