Integrating wildfire into strategic planning for Sierra Nevada forests

Abstract

This study combines the spatial simulation of forest development on a large landscape, including wildfire occurrence and effects, with the search for management actions that achieve multiple goals. The approach was applied to the Eldorado National Forest. Resulting analysis suggests that active management (prescribed fire and timber harvest) could enable the simultaneous movement toward the goals of developing complex forest structure and reducing high-severity fire, while also limiting watershed disturbance and providing a regular timber harvest.