In response to increased wildfire activity across the western US, policymakers and managers are confronted with a variety of options for reducing damages. These policy and management options can have differing consequences in terms of who pays for wildfire damage. In this talk, I will discuss a series of research projects aimed at improving understanding of how exposure to wildfire risk is distributed across households in the western US, and how benefits from various wildfire management strategies are distributed across households.

Matthew Wibbenmeyer

Matthew Wibbenmeyer’s research seeks to understand climate impacts and climate mitigation policies related to the forest and land sectors, with a special focus on wildfire. Matthew holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.S. in resource conservation from The University of Montana. As an undergraduate, he studied economics and biology at Williams College.