A fire-use decision model to improve the United States’ wildfire management and support climate change adaptation
Dates
Publication Date
2024-06-24
Citation
Russell, A., Fontana, N., Hoecker, T., Kamanu, A., Majumder, R., Stephens, J., Young, A.M., Cravens, A.E., Giardina, C., Hiers, K. and Littell, J., 2024. A fire-use decision model to improve the United States’ wildfire management and support climate change adaptation: Cell Reports Sustainability. v. 1, iss. 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100125.
Summary
The US faces multiple challenges in facilitating the safe, effective, and proactive use of fire as a landscape management tool. This intentional fire use exposes deeply ingrained communication challenges and distinct but overlapping strategies of prescribed fire, cultural burning, and managed wildfire. We argue for a new conceptual model that is organized around ecological conditions, capacity to act, and motivation to use fire and can integrate and expand intentional fire use as a tool. This result emerges from more considered collaboration and communication of values and needs to address the negative consequences of contemporary fire use. When applied as a communication and translation tool, there is potential to lower barriers to [...]
Summary
The US faces multiple challenges in facilitating the safe, effective, and proactive use of fire as a landscape management tool. This intentional fire use exposes deeply ingrained communication challenges and distinct but overlapping strategies of prescribed fire, cultural burning, and managed wildfire. We argue for a new conceptual model that is organized around ecological conditions, capacity to act, and motivation to use fire and can integrate and expand intentional fire use as a tool. This result emerges from more considered collaboration and communication of values and needs to address the negative consequences of contemporary fire use. When applied as a communication and translation tool, there is potential to lower barriers to faster and more successful collaboration among stakeholders. Such improvements are a vital part of strategies to address climate adaptation, wildfire mitigation, and the well-being of ecosystems.
