{"id":112,"date":"2026-05-20T16:39:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112"},"modified":"2026-05-20T16:39:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:39:59","slug":"how-prescribed-burns-can-help-save-taxpayers-billions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112","title":{"rendered":"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n<\/div> <\/div>\n
\n\n
\"in<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

This story was originally published by<\/em>\u00a0Grist\u00a0and is reproduced here as part of the\u00a0<\/em>Climate Desk\u00a0collaboration<\/em>.<\/p>

Read more Memphis Is \u201cUnder Full-Blown Occupation\u201d by ICE. Here\u2019s Why You May Not Know That.<\/a><\/p>\n

For decades, <\/span>the US Forest Service has actively managed public lands to\u00a0reduce wildfire risks\u00a0by clearing underbrush and trees, or employing prescribed burns\u2014something\u00a0Indigenous nations have practiced for centuries. Scientists have generally lauded the ecological benefits of what is also known as \u201cfuel treatment.\u201d Now, they say there\u2019s another reason to support this approach: It saves money.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to a\u00a0study published today in the journal Science<\/em>, every dollar that the agency spent on such tactics avoided $3.73 in smoke, property, and emissions harm. \u201cA lot of people have suggested that there could be potential economic benefits,\u201d said Frederik Strabo, the lead author of the paper and an economist with University of California, Davis. \u201cBut it\u2019s been a pretty understudied area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study analyzed high-resolution data from 285 wildfires across 11 Western states between 2017 and 2023 that burned through areas where the Forest Service had reduced the fuel load. On average, the treatments decreased the total area burned by 36 percent and cut the amount of land burned at moderate to high severity by 26 percent. Researchers then modeled the economic benefits of those reductions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The paper estimated that fuel treatments prevented $1.4 billion in health and workforce productivity losses tied to wildfire smoke, $895 million in structural damage, and $503 million in carbon dioxide emissions. Overall, that amounted to an average savings of about $3.73 for every dollar the government spent. The research also found that larger treatments\u2014those covering more than 2,400 acres\u2014were the most cost effective.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a significant number, but when you compare it to the total cost of wildfires it\u2019s small,\u201d caveated Strabo, noting that the cost of the worst disasters can reach hundreds of billions of dollars. But he also said the boon could be even greater than calculated. The research didn\u2019t, for example, examine any savings or benefits for the multibillion dollar outdoor recreation industry. \u201cWe\u2019re only capturing a specific subset of benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan Varner, the director of fire research at the conservation nonprofit Tall Timbers, called the work \u201cthe missing link for a lot of fuels treatment research,\u201d and said that data like this can be extremely helpful in guiding decision-makers. \u201cStudies like this round out the story and provide more evidence for the benefits of these treatments.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Calkin, who until last year was a Forest Service research scientist, also applauded the analysis, calling it \u201cnovel.\u201d But he does not find the math entirely convincing, and questions the notion that such an intangible public good can, or should, be assigned a monetary worth. \u201cA lot of the values of fuel management are non-market,\u201d said Calkin, who wasn\u2019t involved in the study. Ecological benefits, for instance, can be hard to quantify, as can things like public recreation access.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not trying to reduce the importance of fuel management and the value of it. It\u2019s just highly uncertain,\u201d he said. \u201cI worry about trying to monetize the value of treatments on public lands.\u201d<\/p>

Read more The \u201cMessy\u201d Plaintiffs Behind So Many Anti-Abortion Lawsuits<\/a><\/p>\n

One issue Calkin notes is that such work on federal lands may not significantly mitigate the costliest fires, which ignite near communities and destroy homes and buildings. \u201cThe best way to protect a structure is at the structure itself,\u201d he explained. That means the study could be overestimating the amount of property damage that clearing and prescribed burns avoid.<\/p>\n

Strabo disagrees, saying that an unpublished portion of the analysis found that fires that interacted with fuel treatments accounted for a disproportionately large share of structure losses and suppression costs. \u201cThat suggests [those fires] were often among the more economically consequential wildfires,\u201d he said, pointing to the 2021 Caldor Fire near Lake Tahoe as an example. \u201cThe fire still caused substantial damages, but treatments helped prevent it from becoming even more catastrophic.\u201d<\/p>\n

One thing the paper explicitly didn\u2019t account for was the smoke and carbon dioxide emissions that intentional fires produce. \u201cWe\u2019re finding that\u2019s not a nontrivial amount in our research,\u201d said Mark Kreider, a Forest Service researcher. Because wildfire is unpredictable, he explained, you inherently have to treat more of the landscape than will actually encounter flames. How to best factor those emissions in is part of Kreider\u2019s ongoing work, but he says it could potentially even flip an analysis like the one in Strabo\u2019s paper. Still, he said, that doesn\u2019t undermine the core point that fuel treatments are effective.\u201cIt\u2019s very clear,\u201d he said, \u201cthat on the whole they are very beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone supports such tactics. Critics argue they can harm ecosystems, disproportionately target larger trees, and open forests to logging under the guise of fire prevention. Some opponents also contend that this approach is less effective against extreme fires, while others question whether public funds would be better spent hardening homes and communities.<\/p>\n

The federal government\u2019s approach to forest management has shifted since President Donald Trump returned to office. In 2022, the Forest Service released a 10-year wildfire plan that increased forest management and prescribed burns. The Trump administration, which has announced plans to radically remake the agency, has placed greater emphasis on fighting wildfires than preventing them. According the Forest Service, in 2025, the agency reduced vegetation on about 1 million fewer acres than in 2024.A Forest Service spokesperson attributed most of that decline to elevated wildfire activity in the Southeast. The agency also called 2025 \u201cone the most successful wildfire years in recent history.\u201d But critics worry it is moving away from proactive forest management.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe takeaway that I really got from this article was that it provides further evidence that the administration\u2019s current\u00a0policy of full suppression\u00a0in Western wildfire situations is misguided,\u201d said Heather Stricker, a climate and lands analyst with the Sierra Club. While that approach might sound protective, she said a large body of research shows that it can often backfire. \u201cThis paper reiterated a lot of that previous research, but then took it a step further to quantify the cost savings.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has also announced plans to\u00a0increase logging on federal lands. This has added to longstanding fears from environmental groups that instead of thoughtful, well-managed fuel treatment, the government could resort to clear-cutting. Even the paper notes this resistance. \u201cPublic pressure and risk aversion,\u201d it reads, \u201cskew wildfire management resources toward fire suppression rather than prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strabo is hopeful that by adding to the range of evidence supporting forest management, his paper could help guide policymakers. \u201cWe could have these economic and ecological benefits if we scaled it up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a critically underfunded public good.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Black Lung Surges in Coal Country as Trump Slow-Walks Protections<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New research shows every $1 the US Forest Service spent to minimize wildfire risk prevented nearly $4 in damages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions - Moving and Mortgage Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions - Moving and Mortgage Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New research shows every $1 the US Forest Service spent to minimize wildfire risk prevented nearly $4 in damages.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving and Mortgage Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-20T16:39:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\"},\"headline\":\"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T16:39:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112\"},\"wordCount\":1151,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112\",\"name\":\"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions - Moving and Mortgage Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T16:39:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=112#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving and Mortgage Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions - Moving and Mortgage Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions - Moving and Mortgage Hub","og_description":"New research shows every $1 the US Forest Service spent to minimize wildfire risk prevented nearly $4 in damages.","og_url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112","og_site_name":"Moving and Mortgage Hub","article_published_time":"2026-05-20T16:39:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2"},"headline":"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions","datePublished":"2026-05-20T16:39:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112"},"wordCount":1151,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp","articleSection":["Environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112","url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112","name":"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions - Moving and Mortgage Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-20T16:39:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8f70def97351ea22c2b19e45bf36f9b8.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=112#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Prescribed Burns Can Help Save Taxpayers Billions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/","name":"Moving and Mortgage Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}