Human and climatic influences on wildfires ignited by recreational activities in national forests in Washington, Oregon, and California

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Human and climatic influences on wildfires ignited by recreational activities in national forests in Washington, Oregon, and California

Fire is strongly linked to outdoor recreation in the United States. Recreational uses of fires, whether in designated campgrounds or the backcountry, include warmth, cooking, and fostering a comfortable atmosphere. However, through inattention, negligence, or bad luck, recreational fires sometimes ignite wildfires. This paper evaluates whether the density of wildfire ignited by recreation or ceremony on U.S. Forest Service lands, and the size of such wildfires, is influenced by proximity to designated campgrounds, visitor density, previous and current drought conditions, and the type of vegetation surrounding the ignition point.

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Social Fragmentation and wildfire management: Exploring the scale of adaptive action: Research Brief

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Social Fragmentation and wildfire management: Exploring the scale of adaptive action: Research Brief

The authors of this paper looked to address ways that diverse human populations and local social dynamics can hinder or promote the scales at which fire adapted communities can be established.

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Acknowledging the presence of decision biases amongst emergency managers: Research Brief

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Acknowledging the presence of decision biases amongst emergency managers: Research Brief

This study specifically surveyed county emergency managers; the individuals who are responsible for mitigating and responding to disaster events. The results suggest that emergency managers are subject to decision biases and by knowing this, we can improve emergency management and decision-making processes.

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Wildland Firefighter Exposure to Hydrocarbons: Research Brief

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Wildland Firefighter Exposure to Hydrocarbons: Research Brief

Wildland firefighters suppressing wildland fires or conducting prescribed fires work long shifts and are exposed to high levels of smoke with no respiratory protection. This research measures firefighter exposure to smoke and pollutants and offers way to reduce this exposure.

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Integrating values and risk perceptions into a decision support system: Journal Article

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While not written specifically about traditional cultural fire use, the framework discussed in this paper can also be applied to incorporating tribal public values into "place-based decision support technologies that are accessible to lay citizens as well as to fire-management experts."
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Fire Burners to Firefighters: The Nez Perce and Fire: Journal Article

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Abstract: "This article presents results from an interview-based case study examining burning practices of the Nez Perce tribe in the Inland Northwest in both their contemporary and historical policy context. Despite the lack of a prominent fire tradition, our interviews uncovered a legacy of knowledge and cultural traditions linked to fire and a variety of contemporary fire practices on the reservation performed by land-management professionals and individual tribal members. Many of these practices, particularly those involving broadcast burning, have diminished over the years. We examine the reasons for this and the potentials for mitigating some of the practical and policy constraints to such burning. We conclude that the nontribal community still has much to learn about fire from those who have lived in fire-adapted landscapes longer than anyone else."

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Participatory Research in Conservation and Rural Livelihoods: Book

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Description:   "Participatory Research in Conservation and Rural Livelihoods starts from the understanding that all people create knowledge and that the   creation of sustainable livelihoods and of conditions that protect and sustain rural ecosystems are interrelated. Interdependent science, that is, science undertaken collaboratively by local and professional   scientists, can create new knowledge to achieve conservation goals.   Local experts and professional researchers demonstrate that   interdependent science can produce more accurate and locally appropriate data. Conservation scientists and practitioners will both benefit from  reading this book."
Link to site for purchasing >

Fortmann, Louise (ed). 2008. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.       

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Factors influencing line officers’ decisions about National Environmental Policy Act project design and development: Technical Report

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This General Technical Report, from the PNW Research Station of the Forest Service, summarizes the findings of in-depth interviews with 12 district rangers on project design and implementation, and the effect of NEPA on those processes. A "Recommendations" section is included with general suggestions - based on the findings from the interviews - for how to managers in the Forest Service can write more accessible NEPA documents and improve the efficiency and outcomes of the NEPA process.          
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Opportunities for improved fire use and management in California: lessons from Western Australia: Technical Report

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Abstract: "As the large scale of fuel treatments needed to promote ecosystem health and reduce heavy fuel loads becomes clear in California’s mixed conifer forests, managers are beginning to focus on how to scale up prescribed fire use in order to treat a meaningful portion of the landscape. We look at the example of Western Australia’s large-scale and highly successful prescribed burning program by their Department of Environment and Conservation as a model for emulation by land management agencies in California. Focusing on: 1) novel management practices, 2) inter-agency collaboration, 3) regulatory collaboration and policy, 4) research integration, 5) cultural acceptance, and 6) political support of prescribed fire, we make recommendations for a new approach to the management and regulation of fire use in California’s mixed conifer forests."       
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CFSC blog post about the report>

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Education in Chaparral: Recorded Presentation

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Presented at the 2nd Annual Southern Chaparral Symposium, 2015.
This presentation discusses the educational campaign to share the "5 truths of chaparral" through awareness, curiosity, and shared learning.

Presenter: Rick Halsey
View recorded presentation > (please skip to the following time stamp: 01:33:00, low sound quality)
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Recreation and Chaparral: Ecosystem Services, Values & Future Sustainability: Recorded Presentation

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Presented at the 2nd Annual Southern Chaparral Symposium, 2015.
The benefits and drawbacks of recreation in chaparral ecosystems are evaluated in this presentation. Social and environmental considerations are discussed and recreation-use survey results on the National and Angeles National Forests are presented. 

Presenter: Pat Winter
View recorded presentation > (please skip to the following time stamp-01:01:00)
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Social Constraints to Mitigation in a WUI Community: Research Brief

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The author examines social perceptions of risk of home ignition in the community of Forest Ranch, which is located in the Sierra-Cascade foothills near Chico in Butte County.

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The Riskiest Ignition Sources in Southern California: Research Brief

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This study focuses on reducing fire ignition, specifically on discerning the most destructive ignition sources so that they might be targeted by managers. 
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Wildfire Management on a Human-Dominated Landscape: USGS Research Brief

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California leads the nation in fire losses and the explanation for this is that with more than 33 million people, California has a fire regime that is dominated by human ignitions.  
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