There are five main categories of recommendations based off of the policy barriers that currently exist: resource-related, regulation-related, risk-related, educational and environmental. Each recommendation relies on the other in order for there to be increased implementation of prescribed fire.
1. Resource-related recommendations
- Current barriers that fall under this category include limited funding and capacity. Fuel treatment funds are the recommended action in order to focus on prevention tactics instead of only suppression tactics (Miller et al., 2020). Additional funding would also allow for an increase in burn crew availability, training and certifications, along with the sharing of resources across varying units and agencies.
2. Regulation-related recommendations
- Mainly evolves around interagency collaboration and how these interactions need to increase for prescribed fire use to be implemented more extensively. Collaboration between varying units and government agencies at all levels will help promote standardized laws, communication, resource sharing, investments from officers, jurisdictional cooperation, and so on.
3. Risk-related recommendations
- Largely concern how current liability laws are too strict, reducing the desire for private landowners to conduct burns on their property. It is recommended for liability laws to lean towards negligence, or even gross negligence, as long as landowners follow all regulations and safety protocols (Yoder, 2004).
4. Educational and environmental recommendations
- An increase in public education will help to reduce skepticism of prescribed burns and promote its use in order to protect communities. Environmental recommendations include standardized smoke management and air quality programs. Through new innovative technology such as air pollution monitors and smoke plume trackers, agencies can strategize how to conduct prescribed burns in order to reduce smoke pollution near communities (Little, 2018).
