Trust, acceptance, and citizen-agency interactions after large fires: influences on planning processes

Wildfires have increased in number and size in recent years, making post-fire forest management an increasingly important topic. Citizen-agency interactions, citizen trust, and citizen acceptance of management strategies are central to successful planning and decision-making in these settings. In this study, citizen opinions from the attentive public are evaluated in two locations near recent fires in Oregon: the 2003 Bear and Booth Complex Fires and the 2002 Biscuit Fire. Results suggest an agency's commitment to long-term interactions with citizens influences citizen trust in the agencies and acceptance of post-fire management strategies. There is broad acceptance for several post-fire management strategies (i.e. erosion control, replanting, reseeding). However, acceptance is highly dependent on trustworthy relations. Further, results suggest it is not enough to simply offer opportunities for public engagement; citizens need to feel that these activities were meaningful opportunities to participate. Although results differed between locations, overall the majority of respondents did not agree with how the local Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management handled forest planning after recent fires. Findings from this research indicate that positive citizen-agency relations need to be long-term and developed well before a fire occurs if post-fire actions are to be supported by communities.