Understanding forest recovery priorities, management options, and policy needs for tribes in post-fire landscapes

Abstract

With the significant surge in severity and scope of wildfires across the Western United States, addressing post-fire recovery is emerging as a critical challenge in adapting to the changing climate. Increased occurrences of drought, rising temperatures, and prolonged fire seasons, particularly in Indigenous and rural communities, highlight the urgent need for post-fire recovery and wildfire mitigation strategies on a large scale. Federal post-wildfire recovery and response programs such as Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER), Burned Area Rehabilitation (BAR), Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Post-fire Hazard Mitigation Grant (HMG), and Reserved Treaty Rights Lands Program (RTRL) often pose challenges for Indigenous communities impacted by wildfires. Challenges include differences in landscape recovery priorities, funds, and limited coverage on Tribal lands. Reevaluation of current federal fire management is needed to address these disparities. In this thesis, I explore recovery priorities and management options to foster an understanding of policy needs for Indigenous communities in post-fire landscapes. My thesis research is part of a larger project with the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (SWCASC). The significance of this research is grounded in the recognition that, since time immemorial, Indigenous communities worldwide have utilized fire as an ecological resource to tend to their land (Lake & Christianson, 2020; Nikolakis and Roberts, 2020; Norgaard, 2019; Roos et al., 2022). Colonization disrupted Indigenous land stewardship practices and criminalized Indigenous lifeways (Avalos, 2023; Farrell et al., 2021; Norgaard, 2019; Whyte, 2018). Existing research on federal fire management highlights the exclusion of fire from the land as a key factor in the rise of severe wildfires (Calkin et al., 2015; Doerr et al., 2016; Schweizer et al., 2019; Vinyeta, 2015). Nonetheless, there is limited research on post-wildfire policies and governance, particularly concerning Indigenous communities and Tribal Nations that are most affected (Christianson, 2015 and Lake et al., 2017). Post-fire is a critical time because of both the tremendous effects on ecocultural value and the opportunity to reconsider management approaches that align with Tribes' priorities. For this thesis, I report on my work conducting a qualitative case study with the Karuk Tribe, using semi-structured interviews to achieve the following research objectives: (1) identify key wildfire recovery goals tailored explicitly to the Karuk Tribe; (2) explore management alternatives aligned with Tribal priorities while outlining current postfire governance structures affecting their communities; and (3) identify policy and governance system obstacles and facilitators. I utilized literature on Indigenous and settler colonial fire management, and Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) centered around fire stewardship to guide my findings and add to the scholarly body of knowledge. My thesis includes three chapters: (1) an introduction to my research and review of relevant literature, (2) a manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal that stems from my research, and (3) a conclusion, summarizing findings, discussing study limitations, and outlining future research directions. Chapter One introduces the research study and highlights the histories of federal fire management and Indigenous fire stewardship in the United States, as well as Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and exchange. Chapter Two is a written product that addresses forest recovery priorities, management options, and policy needs for Tribes in post-fire landscapes. This research was developed with the Karuk Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to focus on their recovery efforts following the 2020 Slater Fire. The Karuk Tribe views post-fire landscapes as opportunities for government-to-government collaboration to reintroduce cultural burning to the land, rather than excluding it. Participants described the benefits of intentional, low-intensity fire in mitigating catastrophic wildfires and protecting local communities and ecosystems. They also highlighted bureaucratic barriers to restoring fire practices, noting that these obstacles perpetuate harm and fuel high-intensity wildfires. In collaboration with the Karuk Tribe, we designed and adjusted our data collection. Findings were shared and verified with the community and interviewees before publication, per an approved Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol and the Tribe's research agreements with us, allowing for tribal ownership of data and authority over how the data are utilized and how the Tribes are represented in our research products. At the time of this writing, this process is still in progress. Chapter Three offers' reflections on the research process, limitations, and future research directions.