Accommodating non-market values in evaluation of wildfire management in the United States: challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Forests in the United States generate many non-market benefits for society that can be enhanced and diminished by wildfire and wildfire management. The Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy (1995, updated 2001), and subsequent Guidance to the Implementation of that policy provided in 2009, require fire management priorities be set on the basis of values to be protected (including natural and cultural resources), costs of protection, and natural resource management objectives (including beneficial fire effects). Implementation of this policy is challenging because those charged with executing the policy have limited information about the value that society places on non-market goods and services at risk. This paper reviews the challenges of accommodating non-market values affected by wildfire in social cost–benefit analysis and proposes an economic research agendum to support more efficient management of wildfire in the United States.