Scott L. Stephens and Lawrence W. Ruth
Artigo resumido desta publicação em: Ecological Applications, 15(2), 2005, pp. 532–542 - https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0545 |
Introduction EVEN WITH LARGE EXPENDITURES AND SUBSTANTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE dedicated to fire suppression in the United States, the annual area burned by wildfire has increased in the last decade
(USDA/USDI 2000; WGA 2000; NWCG 2001) (Figure 1). Given the current and future challenges posed by wildland fire, a review and reexamination of existing policy is warranted. This
paper reviews the reasons why the area burned by wildfire is increasing,and discusses strategies
for responding to an increasingly dangerous and difficult problem,with implications for communities, federal land management agencies, firefighters, and society itself. The objective of this paper is to present
specific ideas to reform and to improve U.S.
f o rest fire policy and manage m e n t . To be
achieved, substantive reform requires better
development, dissemination, and utilization
of scientifically based information to assist in
the efficient formulation and implementation
of policy (Franklin and Agee 2003). The ensuing discussion will develop a conceptual
agenda for this policy. Finally, the paper will
consider how to enable these changes, recognizing that the mixed public and governmental context, as well as the setting of the landmanagement agencies themselves with their
own histories and traditions, may naturally resist policy changes.
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