| Abstract: | This research examines changes in the intergovernmental policyarrangements governing the control of wildfires in the westernUnited States. For much of the twentieth century, the policymakingstructure resembled Deil S. Wright's inclusive authority modelwhereby fire policy was dominated by the U.S. Forest Servicewith the states playing a supporting role. More recently, thestates have become increasingly important in the decision-makingprocess because of changes in residential patterns and land-usepreferences that require greater intergovernmental coordinationin presuppression and suppression activities within urban/wildlandintermix areas, the rise in the number of large wildfires withinnational forests, and the willingness of Congress to approveinstitutional arrangements that give more weight to local communityinterests. Thus, the current approach increasingly resemblesthe overlapping authority model where multiple governmentaljurisdictions share decision-making responsibility on wildfirecontrol policies. |
