The Use of Science in Wildland Fire Management: a Review of Barriers and Facilitators
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FIRE SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT (M ALEXANDER, SECTION EDITOR)
The Use of Science in Wildland Fire Management: a Review of Barriers and Facilitators Molly E Hunter 1 & Melanie M Colavito 2 & Vita Wright 3
# The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose of Review Science plays a critical role in natural resource management, and the use of science in decision-making is mandated by several policy initiatives. Other disciplines have documented the challenges associated with applying science to management and possible solutions to overcoming challenges, but the evaluation of science use in wildland fire management is relatively immature. In this paper, we reviewed the available literature that evaluates science use in wildland fire management and common barriers and facilitators to science use in decision-making. Recent Findings We developed a conceptual model that describes the possible uses of science in fire management (perception, planning, forecasting, implementation, assessment, communication, and policy), common barriers to science use (lack of science, uncertainty, funding/capacity, conflict), common facilitators to fire science use (collaboration, trust, boundary organizations, coproduction), and factors that can act as facilitators or barriers to science use depending on their presence or absence (awareness, accessibility, relevance). In the context of our conceptual model, we reviewed 67 papers that examined fire science use between 1986 and 2019. Summary Most studies were conducted in the USA in the last 10 years and demonstrated that science is commonly used in fire management and that the maturation of organizations devoted to science translation and communication in the last 10 years has likely facilitated the application of fire science. The evaluation of fire science use, however, is still relatively immature, with studies needed on the use of fire science in countries outside the USA, the use of science in the management of wildfires, and in the crafting of policy related to wildland fire management. Keywords Science application . Co-production . Collaboration . Fire science
Introduction Background and Purpose of Review This article is part of the Topical Collection on Fire Science and Management * Molly E Hunter [email protected] Melanie M Colavito [email protected] Vita Wright [email protected] 1
Joint Fire Science Program, School of Natural Resources & the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
2
Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
3
USDA FS Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, MT, USA
Science, or the systematic pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world through experiment and observation, has long played a critical role in the management of natural resources. In the last century, the relative importance of science in land management decision-making has been paramount as evident in the broad acceptance of “scientific management” [1] and the many policy mandates for use of “best available science” (e.g., 1
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