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Evaluating Public Responses to Wildland Fuels Management
Completed
The investigators intend to develop a carefully reasoned empirical analysis of the factors that influence peoples' understanding and acceptance of wildland fuels reduction programs conducted by federal land managers (i.e. USFS, NPS, BLM, FWS). This study will 1) identify factors that influence the acceptability of fuels reduction strategies and decision processes, 2) examine citizens' understanding of and preferences for necessary tradeoffs among management alternatives, and 3) measure public confidence in resource agencies for effective implementation of these practices. Of particular importance are urban proximate ecosystems and the expectations of residents in these areas; a second major focus will be at the rural/wildland interface where decisions are most frequently made and practices implemented. The research team will coordinate with research and management personnel from interagency partners to focus on key problems and identify the most suitable study sites for regional and local assessment. This project incorporates a) a national study to assess the knowledge, information needs, attitudes, and preferences among the general population, b) a network of regional studies with more affected publics to evaluate forms of information exchange including which delivery systems are most useful, and assess citizen-agency interactions for reaching supportable decisions, and c) a series of panel studies in which subsets of the regional samples are exposed to outreach programs.
Brunson, M., Schindler, B.A., 2004, Geographic variation in social acceptability of wildland fuels management in the western United States: Society and Natural Resources, v. 17, no. 8, p. 661-678. [FullText] Catalog No: 1307
Fitzpatrick, Martin - Deputy Center Director
Phone: 541-750-1032
Email: Martin_Fitzpatrick@usgs.gov
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