In this Section:

	Background
	Project Overview
	Project Components:
	Fire History & Climate
	Fire Management & Policy
	Fire-Climate Workshops
	References
	Related Links
	Contacts

Stay Informed:
Interested in fire and climate? More information is available on the National Seasonal Assessment Workshops (NSAW).

Research and Products:
Fire Research

Background

Each year, more than $1 billion is spent on wildfire suppression in the United States. In spite of this spending and much effort going into fuel treatments, millions of acres are burned each year by wildland fires. In order to meet this considerable challenge, and spurred on by the National Fire Plan and other national initiatives, managers are developing more proactive approaches to wildland fire management. Since 2000, there has been a growing acknowledgment that “a strong science foundation is key to managing the wildfire hazard and supporting management decisions in the most cost-effective and environmentally sensitive way. Supported by scientific knowledge, decision makers are better equipped to more reliably forecast or prevent damaging fires and to understand the consequences of the decisions for society and for forest and rangeland health” (USDA Forest Service, 2003). Interdisciplinary research on climate, ecology and human society shows that the interactions between these various elements shape the biological landscape of the Southwest and the occurrence of fire, a keystone process in the ecology of the Southwest. The ability of fire and land-use managers to manage wildland fire hazards depends critically on knowledge generated by scientific examination of climate-ecosystem-fire linkages. Knowledge of opportunities for introducing climate information into wildland fire decision making, as well as knowledge of impediments to introducing such information, is critical for national, regional, and local wildland fire specialists.