The State of Rhode Island is situated in the northeastern part of the United States between the longitudes 71° 8' and 71° 53'W and latitudes 41° 18' and 42° 1'N (Fig 1). It is bordered by Massachusetts on the north and the east, Connecticut on the west, and the Atlantic Ocean on the south. Rhode Island encompasses 3144 km 2 (including 404 km 2 of inland water) and measures 77 km long and 58 km wide, making it the smallest state in the United States.

The state is characterized by woodlands with lowlands in the south and rolling hills in the north and the west. The highest point in Rhode Island, Jerimoth Hill, is 247.2 meters and lies in the northwest corner of the state. The lowest elevation in the state is sea level. Administratively, Rhode Island is divided into 39 municipalities and five counties (Bristol, Kent, Newport, Providence, and Washington). Each county serves as a judicial district, but lacks legislative power. Rhode Island is the nation's second most densely populated state after New Jersey with 333.4 persons per square kilometer and a total population of 1,058,920 as of 2001 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Forested area in rhode island in unique in the fact that the majority of forested land lies within 0.2 Km (1/4 mile) of some other land use ( USFS Report NE-INF-155-02). This is in contrast to more fire-prone western states where forested areas tend to be fairly contiguous and unfragmented. This poses an interesting challenge for fire supression and structure triage in the event of a large wildland fire as a higher proportion of lives and property may be threatened.

Forested land in rhode Island has higher average fragmentation in comparison to other areas in the US.