The Wildfire Research (WiRē) team’s innovative approach to community wildfire adaptation has received national recognition through the 2025 Fred Woods Award for Excellence in Public Policy Research and Education. The award, presented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economists Group, was given to WiRē founding member Dr. Patricia “Patty” Champ, an economist at the USDA Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station.
The Fred Woods Award recognizes sustained contributions that have shaped the direction of USDA public policy and research. Among her many accomplishments, Champ was honored for her leadership in developing and applying the WiRē Approach — a research-practice model where research informs practice and practice informs research. This collaborative, systematic data collection framework pairs information about the biophysical wildfire-related characteristics of each parcel in a community with social data on the perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors of the individuals who live there. The model brings together federal and academic researchers with local wildfire educators to better understand how people perceive and respond to wildfire risk in the wildland–urban interface.
Two of the most substantial impacts of the WiRē Approach have been the development of a rigorous, replicable method for wildfire social science, and its influence in securing sustained funding and support from multiple government agencies.
By applying economic behavioral models to how people receive risk education, Champ and the WiRē team have made significant progress in understanding and managing risk perceptions that motivate investment.
Key accomplishments of the WiRē team include:
- Creating a centralized library of methods, surveys, and results to support learning and replication of the WiRē model.
- Pairing 31,735 parcel-level wildfire risk assessments with 9,632 social surveys on 33 partner projects, supporting 68 fire-prone communities in the western United States.
- Helping double or triple community participation in mitigation actions through improved outreach and behavioral insights.
- Developing outreach materials and co-presenting findings with local partners to community members, local wildfire officials, researchers, and agency leaders.
- Securing long-term investment and research funding, including support from the USDA Forest Service and the National Science Foundation.
- Receiving the 2024 CO-LABS Governor’s Award for High-Impact Research: Pathfinding Partnerships, further validating WiRē’s collaborative model.
The WiRē team’s work continues to demonstrate that strategic, community-centered data collection and engagement can bridge the gap between wildfire science and everyday decision-making. Recognition through the Fred Woods Award is another affirmation of the value and impact of the WiRē Approach.