The USDA Forest Service received $5.447 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, providing substantial funding to support implementation of the agency’s 2022 Wildfire Crisis Strategy between fiscal years 2022 and 2026.
During August 2021, a wildfire outbreak in Evia, Greece’s second largest island, resulted in a major environmental and economic crisis. Apart from biodiversity and habitat loss, the disaster triggered a financial crisis because it wiped out wood-productive forests and outdoor areas that attract visitors.
This review synthesizes the scientific literature on fuel treatment economics published since 2013 with a focus on its implications for land managers and policy makers. We review the literature on whether fuel treatments are financially viable for land management agencies at the time of implementation, as well as over the lifespan of fuel treatment effectiveness.
T his report describes the full range of costs associated with wildland fire in the Western United States (U.S.) to help inform leaders and policymakers working to improve wildfire response and mitigation.
Smoke from wildfires has become a growing public health issue around the world but especially in western North America and California. At the same time, managers and scientists recommend thinning and intentional use of wildland fires to restore forest health and reduce smoke from poorly controlled wildfires.
Mechanical forest thinning treatments are implemented across the western United States (US) to improve forest health and reduce hazardous fuels. However, the main challenge in thinning operations is low financial feasibility.
The recovery requires an “all-hands-on-deck” approach to meet people where they are, assesstheir needs, and work collaboratively for the best solutions in each community. In addition, it willbe critical to listen to individuals in communities to gain a deep understanding of barriers andneeds.
Catastrophic forest disturbances, such as wildfires, insect outbreaks, and hurricanes, have become more frequent in recent decades. Such disturbances can create supply disruptions in regional timber markets, with potentially significant short-run and long-run price effects. We review the time-series intervention models that have been used to analyze the impacts of forest disturbances.
There has been an increasing interest in the economic health cost from smoke exposure from wildfires in thepast 20 years, particularly in the north-western USA that is reflected in an emergent literature. In this review, we provide anoverview and discussion of studies since 2006 on the health impacts of wildfire smoke and of approaches for the estimationof the associated economic cost.
Modelling the spatial prioritisation of fuel treatments and their net effect on values at risk is an important area for applied work as economic damages from wildfire continue to grow. We model and demonstrate a cost-effective fuel treatment planning algorithm using two ecosystem services as benefits for which fuel treatments are prioritised.