Implementing fuel treatments in every place where it could be beneficial to do so is impractical and not cost effective under any plausible specification of objectives. Only some of the many possible kinds of treatments will be effective in any particular stand and there are some stands that seem to defy effective treatment. In many more, effective treatment costs far more than the value of treatment benefits. Understanding the scope of the fuel management challenges in these forests is the first step towards identifying fuel treatment approaches that are likely to be both effective and economically feasible (e.g., self-supporting) in reducing fire hazard.