Opportunities to Increase Wildfire Risk Mitigation Through Cattle Grazing in Western Canada.

The fire season of 2023 was record-breaking in Canada given the number, severity, and intensity of wildfires. Factors contributing to the number of fires are likely to get worse in the future because of the interaction and complexity of many factors such as climate change and the legacy of decades of successful wildfire suppression. Further complicating wildfire management is the ever-continuing expansion of the wildland-urban interface and subsequent increases in values at risk. Fire management solutions including prevention and suppression will require novel approaches given rising costs and logistical complications. This paper examines the payment concept for ecosystem services whereby ranchers are paid to graze cattle in targeted high-priority areas in the wildland urban interface. Grazing can be ecologically appropriate and has long been used in fire-prone ecosystems in Europe. With some key considerations, implementing PES (Payments for Ecosystem Services) could reduce fire risk, support agricultural producers, and enhance societal protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]