Date initiated:

• 2005

Description:

This project was initiated in order to provide valid conclusions from public opinion research to managers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. Several recent surveys and studies have probed public perceptions and attitudes toward restoration policies and practices in the Southwest; the preponderance of this kind of research allowed ERI to undertake a synthesis, comparing common questions from multiple studies. Topics investigated include:

• Public perceptions of the role of fire in southwestern forests
• Acceptability of allowing some naturally-ignited forest to burn
• Acceptability of the use of prescribed fire
• Public concerns with the smoke effects from prescribed fire
• Acceptability of mechanical thinning of overstocked forests
• Acceptability of removing large-diameter trees during restoration operations
• Trust in the U.S. Forest Service’s ability to manage National Forests
• Trust in various sources of information on forest issues

Key findings include broad support for at least conditional use of prescribed fire and mechanical thinning, high levels of trust in the U.S. Forest Service and universities, and a lack of agreement on issues such as the removal of large-diameter trees and allowing naturally-ignited fires to burn.

Source data came from peer-reviewed, published literature as well as master’s theses and unpublished professional polling data. In all, twelve southwestern studies were incorporated into the report, eleven of which were conducted in 1998 or later. Several studies from other regions of the U.S. were included to provide context for some of the findings.

Project Status:

The synthesis was completed and published in September 2005. Upon its release, the study garnered much media attention, including prominent articles in The Arizona Daily Sun, Northern Arizona University’s college newspaper The Lumberjack, and a story on the Flagstaff local news broadcast.

Publications:

• Abrams, J. and K. Lowe. 2005. Public perceptions of forest restoration in the southwest: a synthesis of literature and surveys. In: Issues in Forest Restoration Series, Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ. 15 pp.