Years of fire suppression and increasing constraints on natural and prescribed burning, possibly along with climate change, have altered historical wildfire regimes resulting in increased wildfire severity in the Nation's forests. The growing wildfire threat has motivated increasing interest in reducing hazardous fuels through prescribed burning, thinning, and harvesting. There is debate about whether such fuel treatments are necessary owing to the complexity of the wildfire issue and to general disagreement about whether long-term wildfire impacts present a real problem. This report presents one way of conceptualizing the costs and benefits of fuel treatments and wildfire and reviews issues related to their evaluation. Illustrations. This is a print on demand report.

by Peter J. Roussopoulos, Director, Southern Research Station The world and its ecosystems are repeatedly punctuated by natural disturbances, and human societies must learn to manage this reality Often severe and unp- dictable, dynamic natural forces disrupt human welfare and alter the structure and composition of natural systems Over the past century, land management ag- cies within the United States have relied on science to improve the sustainable management of natural resources Forest economics research can help advance this scientifc basis by integrating knowledge of forest disturbance processes with their economic causes and consequences As the twenty-frst century unfolds, people increasingly seek the goods and services provided by forest ecosystems, not only for wood supply, clean water, and leisure pursuits, but also to establish residential communities that are removed from the hustle and bustle of urban life As vividly demonstrated during the past few years, Santa Ana winds can blow wildfres down from the mountains of California, incinerating homes as readily as vegetation in the canyons below Hurricanes can fatten large swaths of forest land, while associated foods create havoc for urban and rural residents alike Less dramatic, but more insidious, trees and forest stands are succumbing to exotic insects and diseases, causing economic losses to private property values (including timber) as well as scenic and recreation values As human demands on public and private forests expand, science-based solutions need to be identifed so that social needs can be balanced with the vagaries of forest disturbance processes

This volume collects papers, based on invited talks given at the IMA workshop in Modeling, Stochastic Control, Optimization, and Related Applications, held at the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications, University of Minnesota, during May and June, 2018. There were four week-long workshops during the conference. They are (1) stochastic control, computation methods, and applications, (2) queueing theory and networked systems, (3) ecological and biological applications, and (4) finance and economics applications. For broader impacts, researchers from different fields covering both theoretically oriented and application intensive areas were invited to participate in the conference. It brought together researchers from multi-disciplinary communities in applied mathematics, applied probability, engineering, biology, ecology, and networked science, to review, and substantially update most recent progress. As an archive, this volume presents some of the highlights of the workshops, and collect papers covering a broad range of topics.

Balancing society's multiple and sometimes competing objectives regarding forests calls for information describing the direct and indirect benefits resulting from forest policy and management, whether to address wildfire, loss of open space, unmanaged recreation, ecosystem restoration, or other objectives. The USDA Forest Service recently has proposed the concept of ecosystem services as a framework for (1) describing the many benefits provided by public and private forests, (2), evaluating the effects of policy and management decisions involving public and private forest lands, and (3) advocating the use of economic and market-based incentives to protect private forest lands from development. The concept extends traditional economic theory regarding multiple forest benefits and the use of economic incentives to enhance their provision, by emphasizing ecosystems as an organizing structure for benefits. Although the emphasis on ecosystems is new, challenges in evaluating ecosystem services are similar to those long faced by economists tasked with evaluating forest benefits: (1) defining a typology of ecosystem services, (2) describing and measuring ecosystem services units or outputs, and (3) describing and measuring ecosystem services per unit of values or social weights. Progress within the Forest Service in applying the ecosystem services concept to forest policy and management will depend on knowing what information will suffice, working across disciplines, deciding on appropriate analytical frameworks, defining the appropriate role of economic and market-based incentives, and adequately funding economics research.

Presents key social science findings from three National Fire Plan-sponsored research projects. Articles highlight information of likely interest to individuals working to decrease wildfire hazards on both private and public lands. Three general topic areas are addressed: (1) public views and acceptance of fuels management, (2) working with homeowners and communities, and (3) tools that can help us understand social issues.