From the text ... 'Management reform in the United States has failed, not because of policy, but owing to lack of coordinated pressure sufficient to overcome entrenched agency disincentive to working with fire. Responding to established research, official agency policy now supports a more flexible response to fire than ever before. Actual wildfire response, however, has changed little because of substantial management impediments. Suppression generally begets larger, more intense wildfires, which in turn intensifies agencies' suppression response. The alternative, working with fire, is rarely used because of liability and casualty risks and little tolerance for management errors.' Published by AAAS.