Social Science at the Wildland-Urban Interface: A Compendium of Research Results to Create Fire-Adapted Communities

Over the past decade, a growing body of research has been conducted on the human dimensions of wildland fire. Building on a relatively small number of foundational studies, this research now addresses a wide range of topics including mitigation activities on private lands, fuels reduction treatments on public land, community impacts and resident behaviors during fire, acceptance of approaches to postfire restoration and recovery, and fire management policy and decisionmaking. As this research has matured, there has been a recognition of the need to examine the full body of resulting literature to synthesize disparate findings and identify lessons learned across studies. These lessons can then be applied to fostering fire-adapted communities—those communities that understand their risk and have taken action to mitigate their vulnerability and increase resilience. This compendium of social science research findings related to fire-adapted communities has resulted from a project funded by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP). As part of these efforts, the research team reviewed more than 200 publications of research results. Then the team convened a workshop with 16 scientists with extensive experience in the human dimensions of fire management issues. Workshop participants evaluated collective findings and discussed their application to support fire management activities. In addition to this compendium, project outputs were: 1) a synthesis of published literature specific to eight management questions identified by the JFSP, 2) a list of future research needs, 3) a bibliography, including abstracts, with accompanying subject area guide, and 4) a video featuring the experiences of agency personnel and community leaders in successful collaborative fire planning settings. This video is accompanied by a field guide for use by agency managers to more effectively participate in building fire-safe communities. In the sections that follow, we describe our approach to completing this review and present key findings from the literature. Our discussion is organized around five major topical areas: 1) homeowner/community mitigation, 2) public acceptance of fuels treatments on public lands, 3) homeowner actions during a fire, 4) postfire response and recovery, and 5) wildland fire policy and planning. The compendium concludes with a presentation of management implications and a bibliography of all material in this review

Policy tools to encourage community-level defensible space in the United States: A tale of six communities

Within the wildland-urban interface (WUI), wildfire risk contains both individual and collective components. The likelihood that a particular home will be threatened by wildfire in any given year is low, but at a broader scale the likelihood that a home somewhere in the WUI will be threatened is substantially higher. From a risk mitigation perspective, individuals may take a number of actions to reduce risk exposure, but their risk is lowered even further when neighboring properties also take mitigation measures. Collectively, risk mitigation on individual properties lowers both individual and community-level risk. Multiple factors contribute to whether or not an individual will take action to reduce their risk; when an individual opts to not implement risk mitigation measures that would be beneficial from a community standpoint, community leaders can use a variety of policy tools to encourage the individual to adopt an action or change their behavior. As proposed by Schneider and Ingram in 1990, these include passing rules or regulations, building capacity, providing incentives, and establishing community norms. As part of a larger longitudinal study on WUI communities in the western United States, we reviewed approaches used by six communities in Idaho, Oregon and Utah to mitigate interdependent wildfire risk at two points in time. Each community’s approach was different, being well suited to meet the community’s specific needs. The most consistent policy tool utilized across communities was capacity-building, primarily through raising awareness of fire hazards and potential mitigation behaviors and leveraging external resources. Another commonality was the involvement of a central group or individual that provided leadership by initiating and championing the mitigation effort and serving as a link to external resources. There are a number of other communities in the WUI that are also at risk for wildfire; these findings can be useful to community members and agency personnel who are seeking to engage residents to reduce individual and collective risk. Within our communities, several different approaches have been effective at encouraging homeowners to adopt and maintain mitigation activities ranging from collective efforts organized locally to others developed externally to provide incentives or potential punishments for not adopting treatments. Understanding the diversity of approaches and activities that have fostered mitigation can help managers identify what will work best for their specific communities.Keywords: Mitigation, Community risk, Wildfire, Diffusion of Innovation

Social science research related to wildfire management: an overview of recent findings and future research needs

As with other aspects of natural-resource management, the approach to managing wildland fires has evolved over time as scientific understanding has advanced and the broader context surrounding management decisions has changed. Prior to 2000 the primary focus of most fire research was on the physical and ecological aspects of fire; social science research was limited to a small number of studies. However, as more people moved into fire-prone areas interest grew in understanding relevant social dynamics. This growing interest was supported by increased funding for fire research overall with the creation of the Joint Fire Science Program in 1998 and the National Fire Plan in 2000. In subsequent years, a significant body of research has developed on the human dimensions of wildland fire covering diverse topics including: attitudes towards pre-fire mitigation, social acceptability of fire and fuels management, community preparedness, public response during fires, citizen–agency communications and post-fire recovery. This paper reports on two aspects of a Joint Fire Science Program project intended to take stock of the key social science lessons provided to date: a basic review of findings in the non-economic fire social science literature and identification of future research needs.Keywords: Communication and outreach, Fuels management, Homeowner mitigation, Community preparedness, Risk perception, trust, Public acceptance, Citizen–agency interaction

Outerwear—inner musings: A theoretical framework application for creative scholarship

Scholarship in design, namely clothing and textiles, is based in practice and research. Dire concerns and consequences face academics deciding to undertake creative production as a scholarship track, namely promotion and tenure. With a profession centered on creative practice, efforts to better define and document methodological rigor for creative scholarship must be made, in order to increase knowledge dissemination across the discipline. Studies in information systems design-science theory application indicate various guidelines for undertaking creative practice as design-science (Hevner et al., 2004)

Teaching design research through practice: a pilot study for collaborative exploration

As design educators, we experience tension between devoting the precious little time we have in class to educating our students in ways of making (i.e., skills in sewing and patternmaking) and ways of thinking (i.e. design ideation, creativity, etc.)

Longitudinal Social Science Research in Natural Resource Communities: Lessons and Considerations

The majority of social science research is cross-sectional in nature, with data collected at a single point in time. However, social systems are dynamic and many of the variables of interest to social scientists may change over time. Longitudinal research methods enable data collection at two or more points in time among a population of interest to examine change in measured variables and influencing factors. Despite the opportunities it affords, longitudinal research is relatively uncommon in natural-resource-based social science research as compared to other fields (e.g., medical, criminal, education). We feel that the field of natural resource social science is ripe for a proliferation of longitudinal studies, now that a substantial body of cross-sectional data has been built. In the spirit of encouraging more of this type of research, we draw on our collective experiences in longitudinal studies to share lessons learned in research design, sampling, and data management.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Taylor & Francis and can be found at: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/usnr20#.VFesRmOwV-IKeywords: natural resource social science, longitudinal research, lessons learne

Converting forest biomass to energy in Oregon : stakeholder perspectives on a growing movement

Within Oregon there is considerable interest in the possibility of converting woody biomass to energy. This interest stems from three converging factors: the desire to reduce the threat of uncharacteristic wildfire by removing excess material from the forests, the possibility to stimulate rural economies that are dependent on forest products, and generation of renewable and/or clean energy from a local source. There have been a number of studies to assess the feasibility of wide-scale conversion of biomass to energy. These efforts have largely focused on technical barriers to the use of biomass for energy rather than social barriers. This study explores the social context of converting forest biomass to energy, through use of semi-structured interviews. Forty interviewees were purposively selected from the following Oregon stakeholder groups: federal and state agencies, elected officials, community organizations, conservation organizations, the forest industry sector, Tribes, energy utilities and non-utility energy experts. Information gained through the interviews was used to meet two research objectives: 1) to understand stakeholders' views on converting forest biomass to energy in Oregon; 2) to identify, from the perspectives of stakeholders, the opportunities for and barriers to converting forest biomass to energy, and potential strategies to overcome the barriers. In addition, there were two secondary objectives: a) to identify areas of common ground and conflict between and within stakeholder groups; and b) to identify policy components that would be necessary in the integration of the forestry and energy industries in Oregon. Among research participants there was wide agreement on what constitutes forest biomass; typically small diameter material that is currently non-merchantable, produced as a by-product of restoration or other forest management activities. There was most agreement that restoration treatments are needed in low-elevation ponderosa pine forests in eastern and southwestern Oregon to reduce the risk of uncharacteristically large and severe wildfire. It is this risk of unusually intense wildfire that many research participants felt was driving this issue in Oregon, rather than potential energy or rural economic development benefits. Many research participants wanted at-risk forests restored to conditions within their historic/natural range of variability, which depended on site specific characteristics, but generally meant fewer trees per acre and inclusion of low-intensity fire. The top three reasons research participants were interested in biomass utilization were the opportunities to generate renewable energy, restore forests, and stimulate economic growth in rural communities. While participants were enthusiastic about these opportunities, they brought up a number of barriers that would have to be addressed before the full suite of opportunities could be realized. The most vital and most challenging barrier was access to supply. Factors making supply more difficult to secure included the expense associated with long transport distances, and that while supply needs to be long-term, continuous, inexpensive, and guaranteed, it is mostly on federal land, where the public is involved in land management decisions and politics plays a role. Another challenge is the long history of contention between parties related to forest products coming from federal land, and these parties would have to all agree that biomass utilization using supply from federal forests is acceptable before supply could be made available. Many research participants suggested that collaboration could allow these projects to be developed in a manner acceptable to all parties. Costs could be federally subsidized to make projects more feasible. Participants encouraged development of pilot projects to move discussion from speculation to actuality. Many research participants expressed more comfort in smaller energy facilities to prevent energy needs from dictating forest management, i.e., to prevent the tail from wagging the dog. The overarching goal of this research is to provide information useful to collaboration groups, policymakers, land managers, communities, and relevant advocacy groups to create a foundation for discussions as forest biomass energy becomes an increasingly prominent issue in Oregon

Social science at the wildland-urban interface: 2000-2010 Annotated Bibliography

As part of a larger project funded by the Joint Fire Science Program, this annotated bibliography and accompanying subject area guide were created to support development of a compendium of social science research findings from 2000 – 2010 related to fire-adapted communities. In total, 242 articles were selected for analysis.This is the annotated bibliography for the following publication: Toman, Eric; Stidham, Melanie; McCaffrey, Sarah; Shindler, Bruce. 2012 (in press). Social science at the wildland-urban interface: a compendium of research results to create fire-adapted communities. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-xxx. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. XX p.Keywords: wildland fire management, forest management, Community-agency interaction, Pre-fire mitigation and preparedness, wildfire, fuel reductio

Outerwear—inner musings: A theoretical framework application for creative scholarship

Scholarship in design, namely clothing and textiles, is based in practice and research. Dire concerns and consequences face academics deciding to undertake creative production as a scholarship track, namely promotion and tenure. With a profession centered on creative practice, efforts to better define and document methodological rigor for creative scholarship must be made, in order to increase knowledge dissemination across the discipline. Studies in information systems design-science theory application indicate various guidelines for undertaking creative practice as design-science (Hevner et al., 2004).</p