Abstract: |
The fire suppression policy on American public lands during the last century has resulted in increased fuel loadings, necessitating the use of prescribed fire and mechanical treatments to decrease hazardous fuels and risks of catastrophic wildfire. While these practices are widespread, there is great variability in project costs making planning difficult. Previous studies have examined the factors that influence management costs, yet grapple with the lack of consistent and reliable data. This study uses the FASTRACS (Fuel Analysis, Smoke Tracking, and Report Access Computer System) database from the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service. The database provides information on costs, physical site characteristics, and managerial concerns for fuels management activities from 1993 to the present. Through multiple regression analysis, important influences on fuels management costs were identified. Projects conducted in the wildland-urban interface consistently exhibited higher treatment costs for both prescribed fire and mechanical treatments. |
