Published In

Proceedings of the Second Conference on the Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2011

Subjects

Environmental protection -- United States -- Citizen participation, Biodiversity -- Climatic factors

Abstract

In many parts of the world, the combined effects of wildfire, climate change, and population growth in the wildland-urban interface pose increasing risks to both people and biodiversity. These risks are exemplified in western Oregon’s Willamette Valley Ecoregion, where population is projected to double by 2050 and climate change is expected to increase wildfire risk. Restoring elements of the region’s historic fire-adapted prairie, savanna, and woodland habitats may help to reduce future wildfire risk and help conserve the region’s threatened biodiversity. We report on a mail survey (n = 939) examining the socio-demographic factors influencing private landowners’ likelihood of restoring fire-adapted habitats in the future. We found that newer landowners, landowners with a liberal political ideology, and landowners who have experienced wildfire are more likely to restore fire-adapted habitats in the future than their long-time owner, conservative, or inexperienced counterparts. However, experience with wildfire ceased to be a significant influence when we controlled for underlying landowner motivations for owning their property. Our findings can help planners and scientists better understand and account for the effects of a dynamic human population’s influence on landscape patterns, structures, and composition.

Description

Published in Proceedings of the Second Conference on the Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire, held April 27-29 in San Antonio, Texas.

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/11500

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