Introduction
There is high interest in forest management treatments that can reduce the frequency and intensity of the abnormally hot and devastating fires that have been experienced in the inland west in recent years (Western Governors Association 2001 and 2002). Natural resource management policies are also increasingly being considered in the context of climate change. Fires release carbon stored in forests to the atmosphere, while treatments remove and store carbon in the form of products and potentially reduce fire hazard. Recent developments in both forest fire simulation models and carbon life-cycle analysis models are contributing to an improved understanding of the relationship between fuel reduction treatment effectiveness and fire intensity at the stand scale, as well as the consequences for carbon release and storage. This study develops a prototype methodology to evaluate alternative fuel reduction strategies relative to changes in fire hazard, carbon, and economic impacts at the large landscape scale.

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Alternative Landscape Fuel Removal Scenarios: