Skip to main content
Author(s):
Brooke Baldauf McBride, Fernando Sanchez-Trigueros, Stephen J. Carver, Alan E. Watson, Roian Matt, William T. Borrie, Linda Moon Stumpff
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Fire & Traditional Knowledge

NRFSN number: 15030
FRAMES RCS number: 23060
Record updated:

Traditional knowledge about fire and its effects held by indigenous people, who are connected to specific landscapes, holds promise for informing contemporary fire and fuels management strategies and augmenting knowledge and information derived from western science. In practice, however, inadequate means to organize and communicate this traditional knowledge with scientists and managers can limit its consideration in decisions, requiring novel approaches to interdisciplinary and cross-cultural communication and collaboration. We propose that Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) is one platform for the assemblage and communication of traditional knowledge vital to fire and fuels management, while preserving linkages to broader cultural contexts. We provide summaries of four preliminary case studies in the Intermountain West of North America to illustrate different potential applications of a PGIS tool in this context and describe some remaining challenges.

Citation

McBride, Brooke Baldauf; Sanchez-Trigueros, Fernando; Carver, Stephen J.; Watson, Alan E.; Stumpff, Linda Moon; Matt, Roian; Borrie, William T. 2017. Participatory geographic information systems as an organizational platform for the integration of traditional and scientific knowledge in contemporary fire and fuels management. Journal of Forestry. 115(1): 43-50.

Access this Document

Treesearch

publication access with no paywall

Check to see if this document is available for free in the USDA Forest Service Treesearch collection of publications. The collection includes peer reviewed publications in scientific journals, books, conference proceedings, and reports produced by Forest Service employees, as well as science synthesis publications and other products from Forest Service Research Stations.