Abstract: In the western United States, federal and state agencies and other professionalized suppression forces typically lead response to wildfires on government-managed lands and larger fire events. Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs) are an exception. These volunteer, non-profit groups of private landowners are trained and authorized to respond to rangeland fires in partnership with government agencies. They currently exist in the states of Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada. RFPAs are intended to protect multiple values from fire, including livestock, forage, ranching communities and economies, and habitat for greater sage-grouse and other wildlife species, by responding to fires when they are small. RFPAs also demonstrate the desire of rural “working lands” communities to participate more significantly in wildfire response, be it through the contribution of local knowledge, social networks, equipment, or taking an active role on the fireline. But challenges to safety, communication, and effective partnership are also inherent to the involvement of non-professional, non-government entities in an arena traditionally reserved for professionalized federal and state firefighters with distinct organizational structures, authorities, and rules. We explore the opportunities and challenges that RFPAs present through comparative case studies of Oregon and Idaho, and provide implications for more resilient, fire-adapted rangeland communities.
Best of the West-Session no. 127
Moderator: Catrin Edgeley
