Just Accepted
This article has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. It is in production and has not been edited, so may differ from the final published form.
The influence of wildfire risk reduction programs and practices on recreation visitation
Abstract
Background: The increasing extent and severity of uncharacteristic wildfire has prompted numerous policies and programs promoting landscape-scale fuels reduction. Aims: We use novel data sources to measure how recreation was influenced by fuels reduction efforts under the U.S. Forest Service Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program. Methods: We used posts to four social media platforms to estimate the number of social media user-days within CFLR landscapes and asked 1) did visitation within CFLR Program landscapes between 2012 and 2020 change consistent with the pattern on nearby lands and 2) was there a relationship between the magnitudes of specific fuel treatment activities within CFLR landscapes and visitation to that landscape? Key results: In aggregate, visitation to the CFLR landscapes changed at a rate mirroring the trend observed elsewhere. Within CFLR landscapes, pre-commercial thinning and pruning had slight positive influences on visitation while prescribed burning and managed wildfire had slight negative influences. Conclusions: Fuel treatments can have a modest influence on visitation, but we do not find any wholesale changes in visitation within CFLR landscapes. Implications: Social media and other novel data sources offer an opportunity to fill in gaps in empirical data on recreation to better understand social-ecological system linkages.
WF24036 Accepted 29 October 2024
© CSIRO 2024
