Training programs and/or certification pro- 
grams are also provided in many States to enlarge 
and retain the base of effective firefighters. Im- 
proved training and organization allows efficient use 
of available personnel and equipment. Training may 
include instruction in fire size-up, Suppression tac- 
tics, air operations, fire weather, and communica- 
tions. 
Both Federal and State excess equipment is 
being effectively used for fire protection. A Florida 
program helps local fire departments acquire oper- 
ational equipment by coordinating with the State 
prison system to have prisoners in a vocational 
training program modify chassis from regular trucks 
to fire-truck configurations. Rural communities in 
Georgia earned lower insurance rates by improving 
their fire organizations. 
Other State programs include information, pub- 
lic awareness, and landowner training on hazard 
reduction and the use of prescribed fire. Georgia, 
North Carolina, and Arkansas, among other States, 
are currently involved in specific efforts to under- 
stand and reduce the threat of arson fires. The 
proliferation of second homes and suburban devel- 
opments at the wildland/urban interface has greatly 
increased the fire threat to life and property. States 
in the South are active in programs seeking new 
ways to reduce this threat. 
Efficiency--Fire-management programs are eco- 
nomically efficient when they minimize loss to the 
resource and also the costs of protection (Mills 
1980). Program costs include both presuppression 
(training, equipment, fire roads) and suppression 
costs (labor, materials, overhead) (Althaus and Mills 
1982). 
Several economic analyses have been done on 
the effectiveness of fire protection. The first study 
that identified efficient levels of fire protection on 
non-Federal forest lands was done in the late 1950's 
(Swager and others 1958), so the means to deter- 
mine efficient levels have been with us for 30 years. 
A 1983 nationwide analysis of fire protection on 877 
million acres of non-Federal wildlands, using the 
cost plus net value change methodology, showed 
the efficient level of presuppression expenditures to 
be about $327 million per year (USDA Forest Serv- 
ice 1983). At the efficient national level of protection, 
$168 million in resource losses would occur, with 
4.4 million acres burned. In contrast, the current 
level indicates presuppression expenditures of 
$305 million, with $325 million in resource losses 
and 5.6 million acres burned. Bringing expenditures 
56 
up to the most efficient level would lessen resource 
losses by $157 million and 1.2 million acres. Propor- 
tional results can be expected for the program in the 
South. 
Most of the Southern States have nearly completed 
economic analyses of their programs that will identi- 
fy specific opportunities to improve efficiency. North 
Carolina (Roten and Shepherd 1986) demonstrated 
presuppression needs nearly 23 percent higher 
than budgeted funds. This analysis has successful- 
ly convinced the legislature to fund several specific 
program needs and will be used for future budget 
justification. 
An evaluation of the presuppression, initial at- 
tack, and aviation program on six national forests 
showed that on most, the efficient level was unaf- 
fected by the severity of the fire year (Schweitzer 
and others 1982). The most efficient level was also 
insensitive to reasonable changes in either per-unit 
resource values or fire-effect estimates. The vast 
majority of the net value change was the loss of 
commercial timber and structures. This general re- 
sult was also found in an efficiency analysis of the 
fire management program on 41 separate national 
forests (USDA Forest Service 1980), but in that 
study beneficial effects on wildlife outputs were also 
relatively large. 
Forest Pest Management 
Federal/State Programs--The objective of forest 
pest management activities is to reduce the impact 
of pests on forests and trees to levels consistent 
with management objectives. The program includes 
survey and technical assistance and insect and dis- 
ease suppression. 
The objectives of the Cooperative Survey and 
Technical Assistance program are to maximize Fed- 
eral and State efficiency in carrying out a coordinat- 
ed pest management program; to detect and evalu- 
ate insect and disease outbreaks in their early 
stages, so that forest resource losses and suppres- 
sion costs are reduced; and to provide technical 
assistance and coordination of pest management 
activities on State and private lands. 
The Cooperative Forest Pest Action program 
provides financial assistance to the States for detec- 
tion of insects and diseases, and for funding State 
professional pest management staff. The funds are 
used to evaluate insect and disease conditions 
throughout the South. These evaluations of pest- 
caused damage on non-Federal forest resources 
