Communicating the Threat of Wildfire with Forest Trends for the U.S. Forest Service
The Situation: Forests in the United States are burning uncontrollably, threatening more people and property than any time in the country’s history. The U.S. Forest Service has a Wildfire Crisis Mitigation Strategy to reduce the threat in the West over ten years through fuel reduction projects across millions of acres. Despite the looming threat, special interests have successfully delayed and even halted projects for which they object.
What We Did: We approached the problem like a political campaign. We identified and sized the “pro,” “swing” and “anti” audiences, used research to perfect messaging that can motivate the swing audience, and developed a plan to organize and get engagement from those in favor of wildfire mitigation efforts and the short- and long-term goals associated with them.
The Outcome: This project remains active but initial feedback has overwhelming support from leaders and residents alike in helping to ensure safer, more fire-resistant community-forest interfaces, and a future where catastrophic wildfires are the exception, not the rule.
