Wildland Fire Management as Conservation-Based Development: An Opportunity for Reservation Communities?

摘要

This article explores the economic and cultural development potential of wildland fire management for American Indian communities. Wildland fire management provides opportunities to engage in "conservation-based development"—helping communities to strengthen their connections with the land, improve ecosystem health, stimulate small-business development, and reduce their risk from fire. Indian communities—many of which are rural and dependent on natural resources for their cultural, spiritual, and economic livelihood—are an important example of the potential of wildland fire management for conservation-based development. To examine this potential we asked the question: What are the opportunities and issues for fire-management activities to augmenttribal economies, providing jobs and small-business development opportunities while restoring the ecosystem and providing opportunities for cultural development? To answer the question we interviewed representatives of all federally recognized tribes inthe Pacific Northwest.