**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT AIMS TO INVESTIGATE HOW PAST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES INFLUENCE THE BEHAVIOR OF WILDFIRES AND SUBSEQUENT EFFECTS TO RANGELAND. UNDERSTANDING THIS RELATIONSHIP IS CRUCIAL FOR IMPROVING FUTURE FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND MITIGATING THE IMPACTS OF WILDFIRES ON LANDSCAPES AND COMMUNITIES. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE HOW FACTORS SUCH AS MOWING, GRAZING, PRESCRIBED BURNS, AND LAND USE HISTORY AFFECT FIRE BEHAVIOR AND ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES INCLUDE ANALYZING DATA FROM THE 2024 PANHANDLE WILDFIRES TO IDENTIFY PATTERNS RELATED TO PAST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, CONDUCTING FIELD EXPERIMENTS TO TEST HYPOTHESES ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MANAGEMENT AND FIRE BEHAVIOR, AND DEVELOPING MODELS TO PREDICT FUTURE FIRE IMPACTS BASED ON MANAGEMENT SCENARIOS. EXPECTED RESULTS INCLUDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND WILDFIRE BEHAVIOR, LEADING TO IMPROVED STRATEGIES FOR MITIGATING FIRE RISK AND ENHANCING ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE. THE ANTICIPATED IMPACT OF THIS WORK IS SIGNIFICANT, AS IT WILL INFORM LAND MANAGERS AND POLICYMAKERS ABOUT THE MOST EFFECTIVE APPROACHES FOR REDUCING WILDFIRE RISK AND PROMOTING RANGELAND HEALTH AND RESILIENCY. BY FILLING CRITICAL GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WILDFIRE ECOLOGY, THIS RESEARCH WILL GUIDE FUTURE MANAGEMENT DECISIONS AND ULTIMATELY HELP PROTECT LIVES, PROPERTY, AND NATURAL RESOURCES FROM WILDFIRES.