Fuel treatments at the wildland-urban interface: Common concerns in diverse regions

Forest fuels reduction has the best chance of success if managers understand the factors that influence public acceptance of fuel management. This article reports an analysis of focus group interviews with wildland-urban interface residents at sites selected to provide variation in fire regime, fire history, land-use and ownership patterns, and socioeconomic profile. Analyzed within a framework developed from the human dimensions and social psychology literature, the focus group data reveal four common factors that affect the acceptance of three fuel management strategies (prescribed fire, mechanical treatment, and defensible space requirements): beliefs about the outcomes of fuel management, personal importance of fuel management, situational specificity, and agency trust.