ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a range of social, political, and economic challenges to the use of prescribed fire as a management tool. Although many of these challenges are common throughout the United States, they are of particular relevance to the Southeast, given the importance of fire to its many ecosystems that are of conservation interest. Furthermore, public policy is guided by the paradigm that fires can, and should, be extinguished by human intervention. Fire managers, who in the past could focus mostly on site-level considerations, are increasingly challenged at broader scales by smoke management in the face of tightening air quality regulations and a rapidly growing Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). As air quality restrictions tighten, human health impacts may emerge as the leading liability concern. Although Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the regulatory agency that sets the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the states are largely responsible for monitoring air quality and enforcing compliance with standards.
