Economic Principles of Wildland Fire Management Policy

Evolving wildfire management policies are aimed at more comprehensive treatments of current wildland fire management problems. Key policies are identified that affect wildfire and fuels management. Policies are discussed in the context of institutional factors such as interagency cooperation and the growing number of regulations and laws. Key economic principles, such as the Coase Theorem, are developed in the context of contemporary policies and institutions. Economic principles of specific management situations are discussed, including smoke emissions, the wildland-urban interface, suppression policies, and the use of prescribed fire. Policy formation as it applies to a dynamic society with implications for emerging issues in the new millennium are