Resistance and Representation in a Wildland–Urban Interface Fuels Treatment Conflict: The Case of the Forsythe II Project in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest

Hannah Brenkert-Smith,Juan Ahumada,Jody L S Jahn,Eric A Vance

doi:10.3390/fire3010002

Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Juan Ahumada + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3010002

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Journal: Fire	Publication Date: Dec 24, 2019
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Colorado Boulder

Abstract

Land treatments in wildland–urban interface (WUI) areas are highly visible and subject to public scrutiny and possible opposition. This study examines a contested vegetation treatment—Forsythe II—in a WUI area of the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado. An initial phase of the research found vocal opposition to Forsythe II. The purpose of the present study was to understand how well the resistance narrative represented the broader community in the WUI area affected by the Forsythe II treatments. More than one third (36%) of households responded to a census survey focused on Forsythe II, demographics, wildfire risk perceptions, and variables associated with generic land management activities and place attachment. Overall, while public opposition to Forsythe II has resulted in a nearly 25% reduction in the project’s size, the survey data demonstrate that just over a quarter of respondents (27%) opposed or strongly opposed the Forsythe II project, and the majority of survey respondents reported broad support for forest management approaches similar to those detailed in the project plans. Notably, a similar portion (28%) did not report an opinion on the project. Results include a systematic comparison of opinion/no opinion respondents.

Highlights

Managing wildfire risk at the wildland–urban interface (WUI) entails a complex set of social and biophysical challenges, shaped in part by the intermixing of residences within and adjacent to public lands
The findings presented here are the result of the second phase of the study, which sought to measure the attitudes and beliefs of the broader population in the Forsythe II project area
We built a survey administration plan that invited one participant from every household in the zip code area for the Nederland community (80466) [51] in order to engage the emergent research question: To what extent do the narratives of resistance from the Opposition Group documented in Phase 1 of the project represent the broader community in the Forsythe II project area? We used a census approach to eliminate sampling error and to ensure we provided the broadest opportunity for residents to respond with their views on the project

Summary

Introduction

Managing wildfire risk at the wildland–urban interface (WUI) entails a complex set of social and biophysical challenges, shaped in part by the intermixing of residences within and adjacent to public lands. Those who inhabit private lands in WUI areas stand to both benefit from risk reduction and endure changes in forest conditions that are required to generate resilient landscapes [1] This visibility and proximity expose fuel reduction efforts to public scrutiny, and sometimes opposition [2,3]. Project documents indicate that the primary goals are to “reduce the buildup of forest fuels that the severity of wildfire and to help improve the condition of forest to make area increase the severity of wildfire and to help improve the condition of stands forest stands to the make themore area resilient to future natural disturbances such as drought, disease, and insects.”.

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