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University of Idaho Researchers: U.S. Must
Address ‘Wicked Problem’ Of Wildfires With New
Partnerships |
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February 5, 2016 |
from the Columbia Basin Bulletin
http://www.cbbulletin.com/
Used with permission
The United States must make preparing for and
adapting to wildfire a top national priority,
says a team of University of Idaho researchers
and their international partners in a paper
published this week in the journal
BioScience.
The researchers issued a call for academia,
government agencies, industries and communities
to work together to address wildfire because it
is a “wicked problem” — one so complex that a
one-size-fits-all solution does not exist.
“We need to help communities understand how to
coexist with wildfire,” said lead author
Alistair Smith, fire ecology and management
program lead and director of research and
graduate studies for the UI College of Natural
Resources. “The partnerships have to cover
agencies and universities and industries. We
can’t fix this alone. We have to do this
together.”
U.S. wildfires burned more than 10.1 million
acres in 2015 — a new record, Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last month.
Those fires destroyed 4,500 homes and structures
and killed 13 firefighters.
Wildfire suppression costs the United States, on
average, $2.9 billion a year. The cascading
consequences — such as health problems from poor
air quality, post-fire landslides or loss of
tourism — add up to staggering additional costs,
Smith said.
The researchers’ paper outlines the wildfire
problem and suggests strategies for mitigating
and adapting to it, including investments in
research and technology. The authors conclude by
proposing five Wildfire Grand Challenges to
understand the risks of fire and help
communities become more resilient to its
effects:
• Identify the most vulnerable firescapes — a
term encompassing landscapes, communities,
economies and fire.
• Identify cascading fire consequences by
expanding research into the indirect impacts of
fire and how communities can plan for and adapt
to them.
• Identify early warning signals that indicate
when a firescape could face devastating changes
to its ecology or economy if a fire occurs,
taking into account the complex connections
among elements.
• Create a centralized system that will help
researchers and managers in different places
share information.
• Address barriers to achieving firescape
resilience, especially by recognizing that all
stakeholders must work together.
The UI team’s work links to a nationwide push
for a new approach to fire management, which
includes the National Science and Technology
Council’s Wildland Fire Science and Technology
Task Force Report, released in November 2015.
The paper reaches beyond the United States, with
perspectives from researchers from Australia,
the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as those
who have studied fire around the world. “The
concepts we put in here are highly relevant for
the U.S., but they can also be translated
globally,” Smith said.
The paper’s co-authors include 10 UI researchers
across disciplines, demonstrating the
university’s dedication to fire research that
transcends traditional barriers and leads to
direct results for the people who live with
wildfire. The team’s work connects to multiple
research efforts across campus.
“Communities in the western U.S. and around the
world will always face wildfire, but the
University of Idaho is leading the way in
understanding and reducing the threats to
ecosystems, economies and, most importantly,
human lives,” said Jack McIver, vice president
for research and economic development at UI.
“The University of Idaho is a leader in wildfire
research, education and outreach,” said UI
College of Natural Resources Dean Kurt
Pregitzer. “This team provides an important,
fresh and global perspective on how to deal with
a wicked problem.”
UI-affiliated coauthors of the BioScience paper
include Smith; Travis Paveglio, Andrew Kliskey,
Luigi Boschetti, Kara Yedinak and Eva Strand in
the College of Natural Resources; Crystal Kolden
and John Abatzoglou of the College of Science;
and Lilian Alessa and John Anderson of the
College of Art and Architecture.
The full text of the paper, “The Science of
Firescapes: Achieving Fire-Resilient
Communities,” is available at
https://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/66/2/130.full |
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