Future Search Conference Notes
Park City, UT - October 6-8, 1997
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Wildland
Fire Research Future Search Conference Notes Park City, UT - October 6-8, 1997 |
I. The Challenge
The challenge for the wildland fire research community is to meet the rapidly changing and diverse needs of fire managers, ecosystem scientists, and society. Traditionally, this close-knit community has had a well-defined mission; to support effective fire protection and the use of fire by land management agencies. Recently that mission and output have become more diffuse, just as the demand for traditional support has expanded.
As the importance of natural disturbance has become more widely appreciated, fire science has become increasingly relevant to the ecological, social, and physical sciences. In conjunction, fire scientists are often aligning themselves with colleagues in other disciplines. This beneficial trend can lead to a perception that fire scientists are unresponsive to traditional clients or that they lack a common sense of purpose.
Fire managers, faced with the greatest challenges in their history, struggle to:
- restore and maintain ecosystem health;
- decrease fire hazard, especially in the wildland-urban interface;
- improve cost effectiveness of suppression, especially reduce the cost of large fires;
- improve safety of fire operations;
- anticipate effects of global change; and
- protect environmental quality.
Management action increasingly depends on scientific knowledge and on the ability to mobilize scientific talents in response to on-the-ground needs.
Who constitutes the wildland fire research community as it moves into this new era? Do they retain a common sense of purpose, shared values, and mission? What past influences, perceived trends, and future visions guide wildland fire research? Who will take a leadership role in defining and accomplishing the needs of wildland fire research in future decades? And, most critically, what is the relationship of wildland fire research to its clients and how will it provide research support for the new Federal Wildland Fire Policy and other strategic direction?This conference assembled representatives of the fire research community, along with principal clients, colleagues, and managers of research, to discuss future challenges. An energetic dialogue was conducted to begin the important work of sharing ideas, forming relationships, and initiating action. Participants shared visions of the future and made personal commitments to meet future chal-lenges. There is dedication, partly through this document, to reach out to others participating in the future of wildland fire.
-- Conference Steering Committee
Title: RMRS-P-1:
Wildland Fire Research - Future Search Conference Notes: I. The
Challenge
Electronic Publish Date: December 16, 1998
Expires: Indefinite
Last Update: August
19, 2008
