Understanding Communities at the Wildland/Urban Interface Adaptive Management and Monitoring Regions 1 and 4 – Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) FY 01 Progress Report and FY 02 Plans Project Category:   Social Project Title:   Understanding Communities at the Wildfire Interface: Human dimensions of adaptive management and effectiveness monitoring in the Forest Service, Regions 1 and 4 Project Leader:   Daniel R. Williams, RMRS and Cindy Swanson, R1 Participating Research Contacts:   Jim Burchfield and Steve McCool, University of Montana, Matt Carroll, Washington State University (others yet to be identified). Participating Forests/Grassland Contacts:   Not yet identified (see plans for 2002) Funds:   Total Project Cost and Timeframe (1-5 years): $425,000 2001: about $16,000? 2002: about $409,000 Progress in 2001:   This project was developed in response to a workshop organized jointly by R1 and RMRS to develop a protocol for monitoring and adaptive management of community impacts of the 2000 fires. The workshop resulted in the attached proposal. This proposal lays out a three-stage investigation of 4-6 case study communities to monitor the effects and effectiveness of responses to the 2000 fires. The work would be conducted by a team of scientists from R1, RMRS, Washington State University, University of Idaho, University of Montana, Colorado State University, and Utah State University. The work will be coordinated by a technical advisory team of scientists from the same institutions. Case studies have not yet been selected as we have not yet established funding mechanisms for conducting the work. We are currently waiting to hear how this proposal, which has been accepted, is going to be funded, specifically the financial instruments that will be used for setting up agreements with university cooperators to conduct the work. We understand that a "reprogramming" of funds from NFS to Research has been approved, but are still waiting for authorization to obligate funds. Assuming this reprogramming goes forward, all remaining funds ($409,000) will be obligated through research joint venture agreements that will cover work to be conducted in 2003-2005. Plans for 2002:   Objectives for 2002 phase are to develop and refine the monitoring template and plan of work to accomplish the following: Refine Conceptual Framework. Provide roadmap of assessment and identify which pieces will be addressed and not addressed by this project. This step will also provide the rationale for the approach and the relevance of the information for adaptive management and effectiveness monitoring. Literature Reviews: Natural hazards research. A review and synthesis of human dimensions of natural hazard/disaster research will be conducted and integrated with human dimensions of fire literature. Review and analysis of existing Bitterroot National Forest social research. Synthesis of literature Plan of Work. Synthesis of 1-4 above; provide description of tasks for implementation phase; identify case study sites and partnership agreements with case study national forests, program of field. Qualitative interviewing of key informants (35-40 per community) and rapid appraisal techniques addressing household financial changes, community capacity, social-psychological impacts, attitude/behavioral change, and community and forest value recovery priorities. This phase would emphasize identification of themes/issues and sources and character of key social differences/stratifications (analysis of these data will carry over into 2003). Initial secondary data collection and analysis addressing demographic/economic profiles and health, safety and property changes and impacts (this work will carry over into 2003). Products and/or tech transfer expected in 2002: Synthesis of literature, problem analysis, and conceptual framework. Annotated bibliography covering human dimensions of fire and other natural hazards Study plan to guide Phase III which describes a pilot community assessment protocol (monitoring template) for conducting baseline studies of adaptive management and effectiveness monitoring of community fire recovery efforts.

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