From flexibility to feasibility: identifying the policy conditions that support the management of wildfire for objectives other than full suppression
Scott T. Franz![https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2720-7186](/media/client/orcid_16x16.png)
![https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2089-5158](/media/client/orcid_16x16.png)
A
B
Abstract
Intentional management of naturally ignited wildfires has emerged as a valuable tool for addressing the social and ecological consequences of a century of fire exclusion in policy and practice. Policy in the United States now allows wildfires to be managed for suppression and other than full suppression (OTFS) objectives simultaneously, giving flexibility to local decision makers.
To extend existing research on the history of wildfire management, investigate how wildfire professionals interpret current policy with respect to OTFS management, and better understand how they translate policy into implementation.
Interviews were conducted in south-west United States with wildfire professionals to explore policy’s impact on OTFS management.
Respondents reported that while flexible federal policy and interagency guidance was important, suitable landscape conditions, organisational capacity, support from national and regional leadership, updated management plans, increased monitoring capacity, and adequate performance measures also influence the decision to use OTFS strategies.
Translating flexible options into feasible operations requires aligning many layers of policy and people using proactive, collaborative, ongoing preparation.
Our research may prompt targeted discussions between management agencies and policymakers to determine how to best support successful management of wildfires OTFS.
Keywords: land management planning, managed fire, other than full suppression, Planning Service Groups, public policy, reporting, risk, suppression, USDA Forest Service, wildland fire.
References
Abrams J, Greiner M, Schultz C, Evans A, Huber-Stearns H (2021) Can Forest Managers plan for resilient landscapes? Lessons from the United States National Forest Plan Revision Process. Environmental Management 67, 574-588.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Allen GM, Gould Jr EM (1986) Complexity, wickedness, and public forests. Journal of Forestry 84, 20-23.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Anderson D, Chubb P, Djerf-Pierre M (2018) Fanning the blame: media accountability, climate and crisis on the Australian “Fire Continent”. Environmental Communication 12, 928-941.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Arizona Wildfire Initiative (2023) Step 2: Creation of New Educational Programs. Workforce Development. Available at https://azwildfire.org/phase-two-creation-of-new-educational-programs/
Armstrong D, Gosling A, Weinman J, Marteau T (1997) The place of inter-rater reliability in qualitative research: an empirical study. Sociology 31, 597-606.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Arno SF, Brown JK (1991) Overcoming the paradox in managing wildland fire. Western Wildlands 17, 40-46.
| Google Scholar |
Baillie BR, Bayne KM (2019) The historical use of fire as a land management tool in New Zealand and the challenges for its continued use. Landscape Ecology 34, 2229-2244.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Biden JR (2022) ‘Executive Order 14072: On Stengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies.’ Available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/04/22/executive-order-on-strengthening-the-nations-forests-communities-and-local-economies/
Biernacki P, Waldorf D (1981) Snowball sampling: problems and techniques of chain referral sampling. Sociological Methods & Research 10, 141-163.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Botti SJ, Nichols T (1978) The Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon Prescribed Natural Fire Programs 1968-1978. Available at https://npshistory.com/publications/yose/prescribed-fire-1968-1978.pdf
Brown SJM, Nie M (2019) Making Forest Planning great again? Early implementation of the Forest Service’s 2012 National Forest Planning Rule. Natural Resources & Environment 33, 3-7.
| Google Scholar |
Calkin DC, Finney MA, Ager AA, Thompson MP, Gebert KM (2011) Progress towards and barriers to implementation of a risk framework for US federal wildland fire policy and decision making. Forest Policy and Economics 13, 378-389.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Calkin D, O’Connor C, Thompson M, Stratton R (2021) Strategic Wildfire Response Decision Support and the Risk Management Assistance Program. Forests 12, 1407.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Calkin DE, Thompson MP, Finney MA (2015) Negative consequences of positive feedbacks in US wildfire management. Forest Ecosystems 2, 9.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Carroll MS, Blatner KA, Cohn PJ, Morgan T (2007) Managing Fire Danger in the forests of the US Inland Northwest: a classic “Wicked Problem” in Public Land Policy. Journal of Forestry 105, 239-244.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Christianson AC, Sutherland CR, Moola F, Gonzalez Bautista N, Young D, MacDonald H (2022) Centering Indigenous voices: the role of fire in the boreal forest of North America. Current Forestry Reports 8, 257-276.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Craig RK, Garmestani AS, Allen CR, Arnold CA (Tony), Birgé H, DeCaro DA, Fremier AK, Gosnell H, Schlager E (2017) Balancing stability and flexibility in adaptive governance: an analysis of tools available in U.S. environmental law. Ecology and Society 22, art3.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Davis EJ, Huber-Stearns H, Caggiano M, McAvoy D, Cheng AS, Deak A, Evans A (2022) Managed wildfire: a strategy facilitated by Civil Society Partnerships and Interagency Cooperation. Society & Natural Resources 35, 914-932.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
DeBruin HW (1974) From fire control to fire management: a major policy change in the Forest Service. In ‘Proceedings of the Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference’. pp. 11–17. Available at https://talltimbers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/DeBruin1974_op.pdf
Donovan GH, Brown TC, Dale L (2008) INCENTIVES AND WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. In ‘Chapter 16 of The Economics of Forest Disturbance: Wildfires, Storms, and Invasive Species’. (Eds Thomas P. Holmes, Jeffrey P. Prestemon, Karen L. Abt) pp. 323–340. (Springer Science+Business Media B.V.: Heidelberg, Germany)
Dunn CJ, O’Connor CD, Abrams J, Thompson MP, Calkin DE, Johnston JD, Stratton R, Gilbertson-Day J (2020) Wildfire risk science facilitates adaptation of fire-prone social-ecological systems to the new fire reality. Environmental Research Letters 15, 025001.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Edgeley CM (2023) Social science to advance wildfire adaptation in the southwestern United States: a review and future research directions. International Journal of Wildland Fire 32, 1647-1662.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Eriksen C, Waitt G, Wilkinson C (2016) Gendered dynamics of wildland firefighting in Australia. Society & Natural Resources 29, 1296-1310.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Essen M, McCaffrey S, Abrams J, Paveglio T (2022) Improving wildfire management outcomes: shifting the paradigm of wildfire from simple to complex risk. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 66, 909-928.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Fillmore SD, Paveglio TB (2023) Use of the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) for full suppression and managed fires within the Southwestern Region of the US Forest Service. International Journal of Wildland Fire 32, 622-635.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Fillmore SD, McCaffrey SM, Smith AMS (2021) A mixed methods literature review and framework for decision factors that may influence the utilization of managed wildfire on Federal Lands, USA. Fire 4, 62.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Fillmore SD, McCaffrey S, Bean R, Evans AM, Iniguez J, Thode A, Smith AMS, Thompson MP (2024) Factors influencing wildfire management decisions after the 2009 US federal policy update. International Journal of Wildland Fire 33, WF23129.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (1993) Available at https://www.congress.gov/103/statute/STATUTE-107/STATUTE-107-Pg285.pdf
Hagmann RK, Hessburg PF, Prichard SJ, Povak NA, Brown PM, Fulé PZ, Keane RE, Knapp EE, Lydersen JM, Metlen KL, Reilly MJ, Sánchez Meador AJ, Stephens SL, Stevens JT, Taylor AH, Yocom LL, Battaglia MA, Churchill DJ, Daniels LD, Falk DA, Henson P, Johnston JD, Krawchuk MA, Levine CR, Meigs GW, Merschel AG, North MP, Safford HD, Swetnam TW, Waltz AEM (2021) Evidence for widespread changes in the structure, composition, and fire regimes of western North American forests. Ecological Applications 31, 02431.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Hjerpe EE, Colavito MM, Edgeley CM, Burnett JT, Combrink T, Vosick D, Sánchez Meador A (2023) Measuring the long-term costs of uncharacteristic wildfire: a case study of the 2010 Schultz Fire in Northern Arizona. International Journal of Wildland Fire 32, 1474-1486.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Howard T, Burrows N, Smith T, Daniel G, McCaw L (2020) A framework for prioritising prescribed burning on public land in Western Australia. International Journal of Wildland Fire 29, 314-325.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Huffman DW, Sánchez Meador AJ, Stoddard MT, Crouse JE, Roccaforte JP (2017) Efficacy of resource objective wildfires for restoration of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests in northern Arizona. Forest Ecology and Management 389, 395-403.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Huffman DW, Roccaforte JP, Springer JD, Crouse JE (2020) Restoration applications of resource objective wildfires in western US forests: a status of knowledge review. Fire Ecology 16, 18.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Iglesias V, Balch JK, Travis WR (2022) U.S. fires became larger, more frequent, and more widespread in the 2000s. Science Advances 8, eabc0020.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Iniguez JM, Evans AM, Dadashi S, Young JD, Meyer MD, Thode AE, Hedwall SJ, McCaffrey SM, Fillmore SD, Bean R (2022) Comparing geography and severity of managed wildfires in California and the Southwest USA before and after the implementation of the 2009 Policy Guidance. Forests 13, 793.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Joffe H (2011) Thematic Analysis. In ‘Qualitative Research Methods in Mental Health and Psychotherapy’. (Eds D Harper, AR Thompson) pp. 209–223. (Wiley) 10.1002/9781119973249.ch15
Kimmerer RW, Lake FK (2001) The role of Indigenous burning in land management. Journal of Forestry 99, 36-41.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Korb JE, Fornwalt PJ, Stevens-Rumann CS (2019) What drives ponderosa pine regeneration following wildfire in the western United States? Forest Ecology and Management 454, 117663.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kravchuk RS, Schack RW (1996) Designing effective performance-measurement systems under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. Public Administration Review 56, 348-358.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Leopold A (1924) Grass, brush, timber, and fire in Southern Arizona. Journal of Forestry 22, 1-10.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Leopold AS, Cain SA, Cottam CM, Gabrielson IN, Kimbal TL (1963) ‘Wildlife Management in the National Parks’. pp. 1–18. (National Park Service) Available at http://npshistory.com/publications/leopold_report.pdf
McClintock T (2022) To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes. Available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6903/text
McDonald N, Schoenebeck S, Forte A (2019) Reliability and inter-rater reliability in qualitative research: norms and guidelines for CSCW and HCI practice. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 3, 1-23.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Moore R (2021) Chief’s Wildland Fire Direction. Available at https://forestpolicypub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/08022021-Moore-Memo-on-Wildland-Fire.pdf
Naderifar M, Goli H, Ghaljaie F (2017) Snowball sampling: a purposeful method of sampling in qualitative research. Strides in Development of Medical Education 14, e67670.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
National Park Service (2021) By the Numbers. Available at https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/by-the-numbers.htm
NIFC (2022) Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations. National Fire Equipment System Report NFES 2724. Available at https://www.nifc.gov/sites/default/files/redbook-files/RedBook_Final.pdf
NIFC (2024) National Wildland Fire Preparedness Levels. Available at https://www.nifc.gov/sites/default/files/PreparednessLevels/NationalFirePreparednessLevels.pdf
North M, Collins BM, Stephens S (2012) Using fire to increase the scale, benefits, and future maintenance of fuels treatments. Journal of Forestry 110, 392-401.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
O’Connor C, Joffe H (2020) Intercoder reliability in qualitative research: debates and practical guidelines. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 19, 160940691989922.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Paveglio T (2021) From Checkers to Chess: using social science lessons to advance wildfire adaptation processes. Journal of Forestry 119, 618-639.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Pietruszka BM, Young JD, Short KC, St. Denis LA, Thompson MP, Calkin DE (2023) Consequential lightning-caused wildfires and the “let burn” narrative. Fire Ecology 19, 50.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Prober SM, Yuen E, O’Connor MH, Schultz L (2016) Ngadju kala: Australian Aboriginal fire knowledge in the Great Western Woodlands: Ngadju Fire Knowledge in South-Western Australia. Austral Ecology 41, 716-732.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Rainey HG, Jung CS (2015) A conceptual framework for analysis of goal ambiguity in public organizations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 25, 71-99.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Reimer R, Eriksen C (2018) The wildfire within: gender, leadership and wildland fire culture. International Journal of Wildland Fire 27, 715-726.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Schultz CA, Mattor KM, Moseley C (2016) Aligning policies to support forest restoration and promote organizational change. Forest Policy and Economics 73, 195-203.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Schultz CA, Moseley C, Mattor KM, McIntyre K, Ellison A (2018) Key findings and recommendations based on the USDA Forest Service Integrated Resource Restoration Pilot Third-Party Review. Journal of Forestry 116, 5-12.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Schultz CA, Thompson MP, McCaffrey SM (2019a) Forest Service fire management and the elusiveness of change. Fire Ecology 15, 13.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Schultz CA, Timberlake TJ, Wurtzebach Z, McIntyre KB, Moseley C, Huber-Stearns HR (2019b) Policy tools to address scale mismatches: insights from U.S. forest governance. Ecology and Society 24, art21.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Schultz CA, Bertone-Riggs T, Brown SJ, Goulette N, Greiner M, Kruse D, Shively B, Smith M (2022) Report on May 2022 workshop on outcome-based performance measures. Colorado State University, Public Lands Policy Group Practitioner Paper 15. Available at https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/courtneyschultz/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2022/09/PP-15-Report-on-May-2022-Workshop.pdf
Steelman TA, Burke C (2007) Is Wildfire Policy in the United States Sustainable? SSRN Electronic Journal 33, 67.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Steelman TA, McCaffrey SM (2011) What is limiting more flexible fire management - public or agency pressure? Journal of Forestry 109, 454-461.
| Google Scholar |
Stephens SL, Collins BM, Biber E, Fulé PZ (2016) U.S. federal fire and forest policy: emphasizing resilience in dry forests. Ecosphere 7, e01584.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Stoddard MT, Fulé PZ, Huffman DW, Sánchez Meador AJ, Roccaforte JP (2020) Ecosystem management applications of resource objective wildfires in forests of the Grand Canyon National Park, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 29, 190-200.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Strauss AL (1987) ‘Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists.’ (Cambridge University Press) 10.1017/CBO9780511557842
Thompson MP, Calkin DE, Finney MA, Gebert KM, Hand MS (2013) A Risk-Based Approach to Wildland Fire Budgetary Planning. Forest Science 59, 63-77.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Thompson MP, Freeborn P, Rieck JD, Calkin DE, Gilbertson-Day JW, Cochrane MA, Hand MS (2016a) Quantifying the influence of previously burned areas on suppression effectiveness and avoided exposure: a case study of the Las Conchas Fire. International Journal of Wildland Fire 25, 167-181.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Thompson MP, MacGregor DG, Calkin D (2016b) Risk management: Core principles and practices, and their relevance to wildland fire. RMRS-GTR-350. (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: Ft. Collins, CO) 10.2737/RMRS-GTR-350
Thompson MP, MacGregor DG, Dunn CJ, Calkin DE, Phipps J (2018) Rethinking the wildland fire management system. Journal of Forestry 116, 382-390.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Thompson MP, Gannon BM, Caggiano MD (2021) Forest roads and operational wildfire response planning. Forests 12, 110.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Toth H (2023) NAU gets $5M grant to fund new wildfire initiative – The NAU Review. The NAU Review. Available at https://news.nau.edu/thode-azwi/
USDA Forest Service (2022) Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America’s Forests. FS-1187a. Available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/wildfire-crisis
USDA and USDI (2001) Review and update of the 1995 federal wildland fire management policy. Available at https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/2001-wfm-policy-review.pdf
USDA and USDI (2009) Guidance for Implementation of Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy. Available at https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/2009-wfm-guidance-for-implementation.pdf
van Wagtendonk JW (2007) The history and evolution of wildland fire use. Fire Ecology 3, 3-17.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Vinyeta K (2022) Under the guise of science: how the US Forest Service deployed settler colonial and racist logics to advance an unsubstantiated fire suppression agenda. Environmental Sociology 8, 134-148.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Westphal LM, Dockry MJ, Kenefic LS, Sachdeva SS, Rhodeland A, Locke DH, Kern CC, Huber-Stearns HR, Coughlan MR (2022) USDA Forest Service employee diversity during a period of workforce contraction. Journal of Forestry 120, 434-452.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Wilson P, Paveglio T, Becker D (2018) The politically possible and wildland fire research. Fire 1, 12.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Wurtzebach Z, Schultz C (2016) Measuring ecological integrity: history, practical applications, and research opportunities. BioScience 66, 446-457.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Young JD, Evans AM, Iniguez JM, Thode A, Meyer MD, Hedwall SJ, McCaffrey S, Shin P, Huang C-H (2020) Effects of policy change on wildland fire management strategies: evidence for a paradigm shift in the western US? International Journal of Wildland Fire 29, 857-877.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |