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  • Trust Is a Must: What Is Involved in Trusting Those Who Manage Forest Fires?
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Trust Is a Must: What Is Involved in Trusting Those Who Manage Forest Fires?

  • Article
  • Middle School
  • 1 Classroom Period
  • Fire
  • Social Science
  • Fire Management
  • Land Managers
  • Questionnaire
  • Survey
  • Trust
  • Wildfire
A photograph of a group of educators doing a presentation in front of a large seated crowd.
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The scientists in this study were interested in learning more about trust. They believed that forest managers can do a better job if people trust them to do what is best for citizens and the environment. The scientists wanted to know how much citizens trust forest managers to make good decisions about wildland fires on their behalf.

Trust Is a Must: What Is Involved in Trusting Those Who Manage Forest Fires?

Part Of

Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1

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  • In this FACTivity, you will conduct a survey asking adults how they feel about Federal employees’ management of public lands, particularly in terms of their handling of wildfires. If you...

    FACTivity – Trust Is a Must

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • 2-3 Classroom Periods
    • Fire
    • Social Science
    • Fire Management
    • Fire Response
    • Opinion
    • Questionnaire
    • Survey
    In this FACTivity, you will conduct a survey asking adults how they feel about Federal employees’ management of public lands, particularly in terms of their handling of wildfires. If you...
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    Part Of

    Trust Is a Must: What Is Involved in Trusting Those Who Manage Forest Fires?

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Glossary

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  • biosphere

    (bī ə sfir): (1) The part of the world where life can exist; (2) living organisms together with their environment.

  • extinguish

    (ik stiŋ gwish): (1) To cause to stop burning; (2) to bring to an end.

  • forest manager

    (fȯr ǝst ma ni jǝr): A person who manages a forest; in the Forest Service, forest managers focus on managing vegetation, restoring ecosystems, reducing hazards, and maintaining forest health (definition from USDA Forest Service).

  • manage

    (ma nij): (1) To look after and make decisions about; (2) to treat with care.

  • sample

    (sam pəl): A small subset group, representative of the entire group.

  • Photo of Adam Liljeblad standing in front of the trunk of a large tree.

    Adam Liljeblad

    Social Scientist

    My favorite science experience was interviewing residents of a small town about the places that were important to them. They drew on maps as we talked. That way, I could...
    View Profile
  • Photo of Bill Borrie standing next to two llamas.

    Bill Borrie

    Social Scientist

    My favorite science experience was researching snowmobilers and snowcoach riders in Yellowstone National Park. A snowcoach is like a van on skis or with a bulldozer-type of tread for moving...
    View Profile
  • Dr. Alan Watson wearing sunglasses, on a beach

    Alan Watson

    Social Scientist

    “I like being a scientist because I’m helping to keep something special for future Americans. I became interested in natural resources when I was a kid and my family used...
    View Profile

Jump To

  • Education Standards
  • Educator Guide
  • Lesson Plans
  • Education Files
  • Project Learning Tree

Standards addressed in this Article:

Social Studies Standards

Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
  • Civic Ideals and Practices
  • Culture
  • Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
  • People, Places, and Environments
  • Power, Authority, and Governance
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Time, Continuity, and Change

Note To Educators

The Forest Service's Mission

The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.

USDA and Forest Service Logos

What Is the Natural Inquirer?

Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.

Natural Inquirer bee sitting at a desk with paper and pencil

  • Meet the Scientists

    Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.

  • What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?

    Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.

  • Thinking About Science

    Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.

  • Thinking About the Environment

    Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.

  • Introduction

    Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.

  • Method

    Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.

  • Findings & Discussion

    Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.

  • Reflection Section

    Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.

  • Number Crunches

    Presents an easy math problem related to the research.

  • Glossary

    Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.

  • Citation

    Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.

  • FACTivity

    Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.


Science Education Standards

You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.


We Welcome Feedback

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    Jessica Nickelsen
    Director, Natural Inquirer program

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Lessons

  • In small groups (or individually), students will read a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article and write a letter to the scientist, asking for clarification on at least four questions. This...

    Lesson Plan – Letter to a Scientist

    • Lesson Plan
    • Middle School
    • Upper Elementary
    • 2-3 Classroom Periods
    • Agriculture
    • Carbon
    • Citizen Science
    • Climate
    • Engineering and Forest Products
    • Fire
    • Insects
    • Pollinators
    • Pollution
    • Recreation
    • Social Science
    • Water
    • Wilderness
    • Wildlife
    • Guided reading
    • Letter Writing
    • Questioning
    • Scientist
    In small groups (or individually), students will read a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article and write a letter to the scientist, asking for clarification on at least four questions. This...
    • Explore Lesson Plan
    • Download Lesson Plan (PDF)
    • Explore Lesson Plan
    • Download Lesson Plan (PDF)

    Part Of

    Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1

  • The purpose of this lesson plan is to give students a chance to reflect on their reading and create poems to express what they have learned. The lesson plan is...

    Lesson Plan – Forest Poems

    • Lesson Plan
    • Middle School
    • Upper Elementary
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • Agriculture
    • Carbon
    • Citizen Science
    • Climate
    • Engineering and Forest Products
    • Fire
    • Insects
    • Pollinators
    • Pollution
    • Recreation
    • Social Science
    • Water
    • Wilderness
    • Wildlife
    • Creative Writing
    • Haiku
    • Nature
    • Reflection
    The purpose of this lesson plan is to give students a chance to reflect on their reading and create poems to express what they have learned. The lesson plan is...
    • Explore Lesson Plan
    • Download Lesson Plan (PDF)
    • Explore Lesson Plan
    • Download Lesson Plan (PDF)

    Part Of

    Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1

Education Files

Project Learning Tree

If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use “Who Works in this Forest?” and “Living with Fire” as additional resources.

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The Natural Inquirer program produces a variety of science education materials for PreK through grade 12. Natural Inquirer products are produced by the USDA Forest Service, FIND Outdoors, and other cooperators and partners.

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