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

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyron J. Venn ◽  
David E. Calkin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Wildfire Management ◽  
Market Values

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.

Effects of wildfire on national park visitation and the regional economy: a natural experiment in the Northern Rockies

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1155 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Duffield ◽  
Chris J. Neher ◽  
David A. Patterson ◽  
Aaron M. Deskins
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Park ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Demand Models ◽  
Value Loss ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Observed Behaviour

Federal wildland fire management policy in the United States directs the use of value-based methods to guide priorities. However, the economic literature on the effect of wildland fire on nonmarket uses, such as recreation, is limited. This paper introduces a new approach to measuring the effect of wildfire on recreational use by utilising newly available long-term datasets on the location and size of wildland fire in the United States and observed behaviour over time as revealed through comprehensive National Park Service (NPS) visitor data. We estimate travel cost economic demand models that can be aggregated at the site-landscape level for Yellowstone National Park (YNP). The marginal recreation benefit per acre of fire avoided in, or proximate to, the park is US$43.82 per acre (US$108.29 per hectare) and the net present value loss for the 1986–2011 period is estimated to be US$206 million. We also estimate marginal regional economic impacts at US$36.69 per acre (US$90.66 per hectare) and US$159 million based on foregone non-resident spending in the 17-county Great Yellowstone Area (GYA). These methods are applicable where time-series recreation data exist, such as for other parks and ecosystems represented in the 397-unit NPS system.

scholarly journals Markets and Market Values of Nontimber Forest Products in the United States: A Review, Synthesis, and Identification of Future Research Needs

2019 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 613-631
Author(s):  
Gregory E Frey ◽  
Susan J Alexander ◽  
James L Chamberlain ◽  
Keith A Blatner ◽  
Alisa W Coffin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Regional Economies ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Nontimber Forest Products ◽  
Informal Markets ◽  
Market Values

Abstract Although numerous and varied users harvest, trade, and consume nontimber forest products (NTFPs), relatively little is known about the organization of the markets for these products and the market value or contribution to local and regional economies. In this article, we review and synthesize economic research and information on the markets and market values of NTFPs in the United States. We describe formal and informal markets for NTFPs, and the extent to which and reasons why many of the details of these markets remain unknown to researchers and decisionmakers. We provide examples of the market values of various species and identify information gaps and research needs to improve resource management and increase economic development.

scholarly journals Effects of policy change on wildland fire management strategies: evidence for a paradigm shift in the western US?

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse D. Young ◽  
Alexander M. Evans ◽  
Jose M. Iniguez ◽  
Andrea Thode ◽  
Marc D. Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fire Management ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Fire Weather ◽  
Western Us ◽  
Strategic Options ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Wildland Fire Management

In 2009, new guidance for wildland fire management in the United States expanded the range of strategic options for managers working to reduce the threat of high-severity wildland fire, improve forest health and respond to a changing climate. Markedly, the new guidance provided greater flexibility to manage wildland fires to meet multiple resource objectives. We use Incident Status Summary reports to understand how wildland fire management strategies have differed across the western US in recent years and how management has changed since the 2009 Guidance for Implementation of Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy. When controlling for confounding variation, we found the 2009 Policy Guidance along with other concurrent advances in fire management motivated an estimated 27 to 73% increase in the number of fires managed with expanded strategic options, with only limited evidence of an increase in size or annual area burned. Fire weather captured a manager’s intent and allocation of fire management resources relative to burning conditions, where a manager’s desire and ability to suppress is either complemented by fire weather, at odds with fire weather, or put aside due to other priorities. We highlight opportunities to expand the use of strategic options in fire-adapted forests to improve fuel heterogeneity.

Wildfire Management and Forecasting Fire Potential: The Roles of Climate Information and Social Networks in the Southwest United States

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gigi Owen ◽  
Jonathan D. McLeod ◽  
Crystal A. Kolden ◽  
Daniel B. Ferguson ◽  
Timothy J. Brown
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Fire Ecology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Wildland Fire Management

Abstract Continuing progress in the fields of meteorology, climatology, and fire ecology has enabled more proactive and risk-tolerant wildland fire management practices in the United States. Recent institutional changes have also facilitated the incorporation of more advanced climate and weather research into wildland fire management. One of the most significant changes was the creation of Predictive Services in 1998, a federal interagency group composed, in part, of meteorologists who create climate- and weather-based fire outlooks tailored to fire manager needs. Despite the numerous forecast products now available to fire managers, few studies have examined how these products have affected their practices. In this paper the authors assess how fire managers in the Southwest region of the United States perceive and incorporate different types of information into their management practices. A social network analysis demonstrates that meteorologists have become central figures in disseminating information in the regional interagency fire management network. Interviews and survey data indicate that person-to-person communication during planning phases prior to the primary fire season is key to Predictive Services’ success in supporting fire managers’ decision making. Over several months leading up to the fire season, predictive forecasts based on complex climate, fuels, and fire-risk models are explained to fire managers and updated through frequent communication. The study’s findings suggest that a significant benefit of the information sharing process is the dialogue it fosters among fire managers, locally, regionally, and nationally, which better prepares them to cooperate and strategically plan for the fire season.

scholarly journals Air quality policy and fire management responses addressing smoke from wildland fires in the United States and Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua C. Hyde ◽  
Kara M. Yedinak ◽  
Alan F. Talhelm ◽  
Alistair M. S. Smith ◽  
David M. J. S. Bowman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Fire Emissions

Wildland fire emissions degrade air quality and visibility, having adverse economic, health and visibility impacts at large spatial scales globally. Air quality regulations can constrain the goals of landscape resilience and management of fire-dependent ecosystems. Here, we review the air quality regulatory framework in the United States, comparing this framework with that of Australia. In the United States, wildland fire management and air quality policies have evolved independently, yet interact to meet diverse public needs. Australian policy development is more recent and decentralised. We find that (1) for maxiumum effectiveness, smoke and fire regulatory frameworks must keep pace with scientific evidence, environmental and social change, and be accompanied by clear regulatory guidance; (2) episodic, non-stationary qualities of fire, and its role in ecosystems, pose specific challenges to regulators and policy-makers; and (3) the complexity of industry-focused air quality policies often leads to unintended consequences for fire management. More research is needed to create and implement more effective fire and air policies and better prepare social-ecological systems to address the challenges of climate change mitigation. These insights may be helpful for countries initially developing complementary fire and air policies, especially as the role of fire becomes more important geopolitically and globally.

Describing wildland surface fuel loading for fire management: a review of approaches, methods and systems

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Keane
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
Fuel Loading ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Prediction Systems ◽  
In Fire

Wildland fuelbeds are exceptionally complex, consisting of diverse particles of many sizes, types and shapes with abundances and properties that are highly variable in time and space. This complexity makes it difficult to accurately describe, classify, sample and map fuels for wildland fire research and management. As a result, many fire behaviour and effects software prediction systems use a generalised description of fuels to simplify data collection and entry into various computer programs. There are several major fuel description systems currently used in the United States, Canada and Australia, and this is a source of confusion for many in fire management. This paper (1) summarises the challenges of describing fuels, (2) contrasts approaches (association, classification and abstraction) for developing fuel description systems and (3) discusses possible future directions in wildland fuel description and science to transition to a universal fuel description system. Most discussion centres on surface fuel loadings as the primary descriptive characteristic. This synthesis paper is intended to provide background for understanding surface fuel classification and description systems and their use in simulating fire behaviour and effects, quantifying carbon inventories and evaluating site productivity.

The economic burden of vertigo and dizziness in the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jeremy S. Ruthberg ◽  
Chandruganesh Rasendran ◽  
Armine Kocharyan ◽  
Sarah E. Mowry ◽  
Todd D. Otteson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Economic Burden ◽  
Clinical Characteristics ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Health Care Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Expenditures ◽  
Limited Information

BACKGROUND: Vertigo and dizziness are extremely common conditions in the adult population and therefore place a significant social and economic burden on both patients and the healthcare system. However, limited information is available for the economic burden of vertigo and dizziness across various health care settings. OBJECTIVE: Estimate the economic burden of vertigo and dizziness, controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical comorbidities. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of data from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (2007–2015) was performed to analyze individuals with vertigo or dizziness from a nationally representative sample of the United States. Participants were included via self-reported data and International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision Clinical Modification codes. A cross-validated 2-component generalized linear model was utilized to assess vertigo and dizziness expenditures across demographic, socioeconomic and clinical characteristics while controlling for covariates. Costs and utilization across various health care service sectors, including inpatient, outpatient, emergency department, home health, and prescription medications were evaluated. RESULTS: Of 221,273 patients over 18 years, 5,275 (66% female, 34% male) reported either vertigo or dizziness during 2007–2015. More patients with vertigo or dizziness were female, older, non-Hispanic Caucasian, publicly insured, and had significant clinical comorbidities compared to patients without either condition. Furthermore, each of these demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics lead to significantly elevated costs due to having these conditions for patients. Significantly higher medical expenditures and utilization across various healthcare sectors were associated with vertigo or dizziness (p <  0.001). The mean incremental annual healthcare expenditure directly associated with vertigo or dizziness was $2,658.73 (95% CI: 1868.79, 3385.66) after controlling for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Total annual medical expenditures for patients with dizziness or vertigo was $48.1 billion. CONCLUSION: Vertigo and dizziness lead to substantial expenses for patients across various healthcare settings. Determining how to limit costs and improve the delivery of care for these patients is of the utmost importance given the severe morbidity, disruption to daily living, and major socioeconomic burden associated with these conditions.

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