Effects of ownership patterns on cross-boundary wildfires

Ana M. G. Barros,Alan A. Ager,Thomas A. Spies,Michelle A. Day

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-98730-1

Abstract

Understanding ownership effects on large wildfires is a precursor to the development of risk governance strategies that better protect people and property and restore fire-adapted ecosystems. We analyzed wildfire events in the Pacific Northwest from 1984 to 2018 to explore how area burned responded to ownership, asking whether particular ownerships burned disproportionately more or less, and whether these patterns varied by forest and grass/shrub vegetation types. While many individual fires showed indifference to property lines, taken as a whole, we found patterns of disproportionate burning for both forest and grass/shrub fires. We found that forest fires avoided ownerships with a concentration of highly valued resources—burning less than expected in managed US Forest Service forested lands, private non-industrial, private industrial, and state lands—suggesting the enforcement of strong fire protection policies. US Forest Service wilderness was the only ownership classification that burned more than expected which may result from the management of natural ignitions for resource objectives, its remoteness or both. Results from this study are relevant to inform perspectives on land management among public and private entities, which may share boundaries but not fire management goals, and support effective cross-boundary collaboration and shared stewardship across all-lands.

Highlights

Understanding ownership effects on large wildfires is a precursor to the development of risk governance strategies that better protect people and property and restore fire-adapted ecosystems
The large number of footprints that burned on federal lands, Forest Service (FS)-matrix, FS-wilderness, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) account for 63% of the total burned area in the study area
BLM and tribal lands were predominantly associated with grass/shrub fires, 80% and 70% respectively

Summary

Introduction

Understanding ownership effects on large wildfires is a precursor to the development of risk governance strategies that better protect people and property and restore fire-adapted ecosystems. Broad ownership categories can serve as a surrogate for forest management goals, practices, and policy preferences by individuals[7], and much of the push and pull between humans, forests, and wildfire can be interpreted through the lens of landscape patterns of ownership, where land management regimes are expressed. Private non-industrial forest owners typically avoid fire, may attempt to reduce fire risk through mechanical treatments of vegetation around homesites, and support strong fire suppression strategies. Private non-industrial forests are prioritized for fire suppression and fuel reduction to protect homes and lives by local, state and federal fire management agencies. Untangling the effect of land ownership and wildfire management policies on cross-boundary fire exposure is needed to develop and implement wildfire management policies that support functional risk governance systems and foster landscape resiliency[4,15,16]. A common and data-driven understanding of how land ownership patterns affect fire exposure could help mitigate the fault-finding that sometimes characterizes public perceptions of wildfire in multi-ownership landscapes[10,16]

Methods

Results

Conclusion