ABSTRACT
Contemporary forests are showing the signs of stress from multiple interacting forces, most importantly introduced pests and pathogens as well as processes like fire and native insect and disease outbreaks occurring in historically unprecedented patterns. Changes in climate patterns at a global scale and a history of past land uses drive and shape these processes in complex ways; the effects of these interactions are especially pronounced in semiarid western forests where fire and native insect outbreaks have come to threaten human lives, infrastructure, and socially valued elements of forest systems. Contemporary forest policy changes have been proposed and enacted in response to these patterns, creating both opportunities for multi-stakeholder partnerships across landscapes and opportunities for political debate and division. This chapter examines the interactions between environmental change dynamics and policy and governance processes for forests across ownership categories.
