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Problem Statement
Problem Statement
Wildfires are becoming larger and more severe as the climate shifts in the far north.
Fuel breaks are a tool to proactively mitigate risk
BUT
Fuel breaks are expensive, require maintenance, and come with side effects that are sometimes unwelcome to locals
Is there a better path forward?
Project Goal
Project Goal
Share knowledge across diverse sectors and communities to develop innovative approaches to fuel management that sustain community resilience to wildfire in the changing climate of the North
Increasing wildfire risk associated with climate change is creating strong pressures on northern communities to manage fuels to protect people, infrastructure, and critical wildlife habitat or protected areas. Strategies to resist damage from wildfires in the boreal forest are considerably enhanced by adaptation efforts to reduce fuel loads in fuel breaks, often constructed through forest harvest or thinning on natural lands around communities. However, maintaining effective fuel breaks requires ongoing treatment and often creates features that compromise the ecosystem services the forest provides to local communities. As an alternative, directing forest succession following fuel treatments can convert forest stands to vegetation structures that simultaneously reduce wildfire risk while supporting multiple community benefits. This win-win situation is ecologically and socially plausible but requires investment in knowledge sharing to support local capacity and innovation.
Mechanically treated fuel breaks open space for a variety of community benefits, from growing food to enhancing trail systems. Photo: Alaska Department of Natural Resources
Hand thinned fuel treatments can provide habitat for berries and wildlife and opportunities for easier recreation. Photo: D. Rees
This planning and synthesis project is establishing a network of northern experts from diverse knowledge systems and sectors to envision and assess opportunities to develop fuel reduction treatments that direct ecological outcomes towards sustainable social-ecological benefits in boreal forests. Through knowledge sharing and assessment of potential added benefits that could be planned into fuel break designs, we support increased engagement with innovative approaches to fuel management that sustain community resilience to wildfire in the changing climate of the North, and community resilience and well-being overall.
Our Morpho synthesis working group met 4 times at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS).
Our project has three primary components:
Large network gatherings for listening and idea generation to guide the project and understand the fuel break added benefits sought by our northern communities.
Synthesis working group development of scenarios for fuel breaks with added benefits across different levels of intervention and maintenance.
Development of resources to support integration of innovative added fuel break benefits into new fuel break planning or development of existing fuel breaks.
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