DOCUMENT RESUME ED 034 603 RC 003 799 AUTROR Christiansen, John R.; And Others TTTLF Forest -Fire Prevention Knowledge andAttitudes of Residents of Utah County Utah, With Comparisons to Butte County, CaliforTCA INSTTTUTTON Brigham Young Univ., P_ovo, Utah. Coll. ofSocial Sciences. zEPORT NO SSR-Bull-5 PUB DATE 69 NOTE 15p. EDRS PPTCF EDRS Price MF-$0.25 HC-T0.85 DESCRIPTORS *Attitudes, *Conservation Education, *Fire Protection, Fire Science Education, Forestry, Information Needs, Land Use, *Natural Resources, Outdoor Education, *Recreation, Tables (Data) IDENTIPIERS California, *Utah ABSTRACT The use of land for outdoor recreationis becoming more and moreimportant, and the increased use of the landhas raised the risk of man-caused forest fires.The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the kinds and numbers ofvisits that people are making to public forests,(2) to identify the socialcharacteristics of forest users, (3) to measure the amount of informationpeople had about preventing forest fires,(4) to discover how people obtained reliable information about forest-fireprevention, and (5) to recommend more effective programs for fireprevention on the basis of the information obtained in thestudy. A sample of 901 persons were interviewed in Utah County, Utah, and theresults were compared to a similar study conducted earlier in Butte County,California. Recommendations for more effective fire-prevention programsincluded additional research, education, andinformation programs. (DK) riN MIS 10M1111 MS Ka KNOWN tigItY as mans INN III CO MOM ONNIVAINNI 011111110111 II. MINIS a WIW 01 WINN VAS N Not IMISSOLY MUM OffICIAl Offla Of WAN 4. POSITION Olt NUM cFOREST-FIRE PREVENTION KNOWLEDGE Ca AND ATTITUDES OF RESIDENTS OF UJ UTAH COUNTY, UTAH, WITH COMPARISONS TO BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA John R. Christiansen, Wiliam S. Folkman, J. Loraine Adams, and Pamela Hawke: SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH BULLETIN Number 5 Department of Sociology College of Social Sciences Brigham Young University and Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service t 1969 02 O O ABSTRACT A representative sample, consisting of 901 persons, was inter- viewed in Utah County, Utah, to determine the characteristics of forest users. These characteristics were related to the population's knowledge and attitudes regarding the forest resource and its protection from fire. Comparisons were made with a similar study conducted earlier in Butte County, California. Nearly eight out of ten of the Utah County residents had visited a National Forest at least once during the year p the study. Frequency of such visits was related to age, sex, manta status, education, occupation, income, and residence. Knowledge about fire prevention was higher among the Utah population than among the comparable Californians. Frequent forest visitors, especially hunters and fisherman, scored better than average on the knowledge test. Although few felt forest fires presented a serious threat to themselves or their property, most felt keenly the danger to public forest property.Responsible attitudes were particularly character- istic of older, urban-dwelling, fire-experienced, authority- tolerant, and fire-knowledgeable persons. Television, radio, and newspapers were mentioned in that order as mass communications sources of forest-fire knowledge. Smok72ear was by far the most frequently remembered item from communications. Recommendations from the study for developing effective fire prevention programs include recognition that such programs must be geared to all of the people. Special attention should be given to active users of the forest who are ill-informedand poorly moti- vated regarding the use of fire. Stress should be placed on the fact that the National Forests are their forests. Forest personnel should demonstrate this fact by their attitude and behavior. Forest-Are Prevention Knowledge and Attitudes of Residents of Utah County, Utah, with Comparisons to Butte County, California John R. Christianson*, William S. Folbnan**, J. Loraine Adams*, and Pamela Hawke:* INTRODUCTION Societal changes in the Unitedgest, fastest-growing group in the States are having a dynamic impactlabor force; people are moving away on the use and management of ourfrom farms and small towns to the National Forests. Whereas only a fewbig cities and suburbs; and Ameri- decades ago most of our public forestcans are taking more timefor recrea- land was in a custodial state, todaytion, particularly outdoor recreation. we are seeing a rapid implementa- Although, fortunately, risk does tion of the multiple-use-concept. not increase proportionately with use, The multiple- use - concept involveswiththeincreasing numberof the coordinated and harmonious, man-persons entering the national forests agement of uses and resources suchfor recreational purposes, the risk of as forage, recreation,timber, water,man-caused forest fires has increased. and wildlife. This fire risk has been heightened Use of land for outdoor recreationeven more by the use of forest lands is becoming increasingly important.by an expanding number of workers Expenditures of public funds for out-as well. Workers come into the wild- door recreation have risen from 553land areas not only for traditional million dollars in 1951 to 1,151 mil-occupational uses of the forests, but liondollars in1960.1 The totalfor construction of power lines, tele- number of people who engaged inphone and television facilities, high- sport fishing and/or hunting in-ways, and water conservation pro- creased from 30,435,000 in 1960 tojects. 32,881,000 in 1965.2 In 1965 the ex- With the rise in forest-fin risk penditures of these sport fishermenthere has been an increase in re- and hunters amounted to $4,046,-search and development designed to 000,000 or $123.06 per person.3 prevent and control forest fires. Both The increased demands upon the Department ofSociology,Collegeof public forest lands for recreational SocialSciences, Brigham Young Uni- purposes result in partfrom the venity, Provo, Utah. changing characteristics of this coun-**Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Ex- ri tStation,Forest Service, U.S. try's population. Among the most rtment of Agriculture,Berekeley, pertinent of these changing charac- ifornia. teristics are the following: nearly 'U.S. Bureau of, the Census, Statistical every other personin the country isAbstract of the United States: 1967. (88th edition.) Washington, D. C., 1967, p. 210. less than 28 years of age; personal 'Statistical Abstract of the U.S.: 1967, p. income and living standards are ris- 211. ing for the majority of citizens; 'Statistical Abstract of the U.S.: 1967, p. white-collar Americans are the big- 212. 3 engineering and behavioral researchforest fires and their attitudes con= have been employed. Engineeringconducted in Utah County, Utah, re- research experiments with firere-garding, forest fire prevention know- tardant sprays, for roadsides, fire-ledge, and attitudes; and, where pos- proofing practices in campgrounds,sible, to compare the Utah findings clearing of fuels from around forestwith those previously reported from residences, and other practices haveCalifornia.' More specifically,the resulted in improvedmeans of modi-principal purposes in both studies fying the environment to reduce firewere fivefold: (1) to determine the hazard. Research into social factorskind and amount of visits that people in fire prevention has beenconcernedwere making to public forests, (2) to with, among other things, theprac-identify the social characteristics of tice of woods burning in the South,people who were making thesevisits, and, in California, the identification(3) to measure theamount of infor- of persons whomay present a rela-mation people had about preventing tively high fire-threat to forests. 4Follanan, William S., Residents of Butte County, California: Their Knowledge and Purpose of Study Attitudes Regarding Forest Fire Prevention, U.S. Forest Service Research Paper PSW- 25, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Ex- The purpose of this bulletin istoperiment Station, Berkeley, California, 1965. report some fin s from a studycerrung doing so, (4) to discover how 1:31111111111111/ Canyon south of Timponuks. 4. people obtained reliable informationNumber and Kind of Visits about forest-fire prevention, and, (5)Made to National Forests to recommend more effective pro- grams for fire prevention onthe basis To ascertain the degree and nature of the information obtained in theof the threat to public forest lands studies. presented by people it is necessary to The study was a joint endeavor ofknow, among other things, the kind Pacific Southwest Forest and Rangeand amount of activity inwhich Experiment Station and Brighampeople engage in national forests. Young University, with most of the As shown in Table 1, the number financial costs being met by theof visits to national forests by Utah former. County residents to wildland areas was somewhathigher than that of. Butte County residents. Nearlynine Method of Study out of ten of the UtahCounty resi- dents had visited the national forests In both Utah and Butte Counties prior to a representativesample of the resi-at least once during the year dent population was interviewed totheir being interviewed. This find- obtain the data for the studies. Aning suggests = that such visits are im- area-sampling design was developedportant to a large percentageof resi- in both counties to provide represent-dents of Central Utah. Moreover, it ativeness for all age groups