Diversity in Southwesterners' views of Forest Service fire management

Abstract

The risk of wildland fires is of significant concern in the southwestern United States. Although the Southwest has a long hi story as a fire· prone ecosystem, years of drought and insect infestation have increased fire risk. Paired with these ecological forces is the increased risk caused by the concentration of populations in the wildland urban interface (WUl), compounded as urban encroachment spills over into wildland areas (Cleaves 2001; Daniel 2003; Fulton 2003; Murphy 2000; Platt 200 1). As a consequence of this encroachment, the WUI has been growing (Cleaves 2001; Hamner et al. 2004; Platt 2001). These land· use changes and aggressive fire suppression have altered vegetative composition and structure and increased the risk of larger and more severe wildland fires (Cleaves 2001).

Citation

Winter, P.L.; Cvetkovich, G.T. 2007. Diversity in Southwesterners' views of Forest Service fire management. In: Wade E. Martin, Carol Raish and Brian Kent (eds.) 2007. Wildfire Risk: Human Perceptions and Management Implications. Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future Press. pp. 156-170