Target Groups for Emerging Wildfire Risk Policy: Forest Owners in The Western Pacific Northwest

As wildfires in the western US grow in both size and intensity, forest policymakers and managers seek effective ways to mitigate and adapt to increasing wildfire risk. In some regions, such as the western Pacific Northwest, where wildfires historically burned infrequently, climate change and housing development appear to be altering wildfire regimes while bringing greater numbers of people living in greater proximity to potentially more fire-prone forests. Developing effective strategies for family forest owners to adapt to the wildfire regimes of the future will depend on designing policies and programs to encourage them to mitigate wildfire risk, while helping them pursue their objectives for forest management. We investigated potential wildfire policy target groups to aid in developing outreach, education, and incentive programs for wildfire risk mitigation activities in the changing forest landscape of western Oregon and western Washington. Using data from a survey of family forest owners, we conducted factor and cluster analysis to identify distinct family forest owner groups differentiated by their prevailing forest land ownership objectives. We then examined differences in wildfire risk perceptions, forest management activities, and intentions to conduct wildfire risk mitigation activities across these forest owner groups. Our findings point to potential policy and outreach efforts that policymakers might consider for enhancing wildfire risk mitigation efforts among family forest owners in the western Pacific Northwest.