Characteristics and location of the wildland-urban interface in the United States
Conference Proceedings (Chapter)
The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) is "the area where structures and other human developments meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland," or in more general terms, where houses or commercial development and fairly dense vegetation are both present. Interface neighborhoods are found all across the United States and include many of the sprawling areas that grew during the 1990s when low density housing spread across the landscape.
The references to the WUI in recent policy and legislation create an opportunity for better, more specific information about its location and characteristics. Despite its importance in wildland fire management, we are only beginning to understand the WUI across the landscape. What is the extent of the WUI, and where is it geographically distributed across the country? The answer to this question holds great value to those involved in wildland fire policy and management. The purpose of our research is to address these questions and create a first-ever national portrayal of the WUI for the lower 48 states of the U.S. [from paper Introduction]
[2nd International Wildland Fire Ecology and Fire Management Congress; November 19, 2003. Orlando, FL (US)]
Maps and GIS data supporting this conference presentation are located at SILVIS.
S.I. Stewart, V.C. Radeloff, R.B. Hammer
2004
2nd International Wildland Fire Ecology and Fire Management Congress
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Interface
National
Interface, WUI, Leaf characteristics
