The Wildland Fire Challenge: Protecting the Communities and Restoring Ecosystems
In recent summers, large forest fires have burned millions of acres and hundreds of homes across western states where drought conditions prevail. Alarmed elected officials agree that fuel loads in forests must be reduced to protect communities and restore ecosystems, but they disagree over where and how much.
In this paper, we evaluate the quality of information that feeds wildland fire policy, assess the challenge of identifying and protecting threatened communities from wildland fire, and outline the first steps in a comprehensive strategy to prioritize where fuel reduction and ecosystem restoration measures are needed.
Authors: Greg Aplet and Bo Wilmer
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Sam Goldman
Sam has been with The Wilderness Society since Fall 2007. He came most recently from M+R Strategic Services in Washington, DC where he worked with national environmental groups to improve their online campaign work and field organizing capacity. Before that, Sam was the Assistant National Field Director for U.S. PIRG where he covered a variety of issues including the fight to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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