Smokey Bear and sense of place within our National Forests and public lands

Keywords: Smokey Bear, Spatial thinking and behavior, Sense of Place, Place Attachment, National Forests, Public Lands
Session Type: Virtual Guided Poster Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 63

Abstract

Smokey Bear, with his resoundingly stern warning of ONLY YOU, is the face of national forest fire prevention policies. Born from wartime despair over domestic wildfire threats and their devastating repercussions, the campaign was created to establish and strengthen national wildfire prevention platforms. As a medium and instrument of government propaganda, Smokey Bear was established to mold specific patterns of spatial thinking and behavior when relating to the use of fire and forested lands within the United States. By analyzing the campaign’s visual imagery throughout its nearly eight decades, this project aims to illustrate how the nation’s oldest and most expensive public campaign has created sense of place and place attachment within our national forests and public lands. This work marks the beginning of my master’s thesis research, which will not only look at how the campaign has shaped public perceptions, but also the effect of the policies touted by Smokey Bear have had on forest health.