Legislation is a cornerstone of environmental economics. However, the effectiveness of legislative measures remains the subject of considerable debate. Human behavioral feedback significantly influences the effectiveness and outcomes of legislative measures. However, existing environmental policy assessments frequently overlook the mechanisms of human behaviors in response to legislative measures. Here, we characterize human behavioral feedback to environmental legislation for wildfire hazards through regional land-use models. Our findings reveal a counterproductive effect, which we interpret as evidence of a trade-off between the implementation of legislation and tolerance of environmental impacts. This relationship is primarily described by changes in land use at the urban boundaries adjacent to wildland areas. Specifically, our study demonstrates that environmental protective legislation, such as forest management, can indeed reduce wildfire damage. However, while environmental economic legislation offers numerous benefits, it can inadvertently create a false sense of confidence. The false sense of confidence encourages increased urban development in wildfire-prone areas, thereby undermining the legislation's protective benefits. Our findings underscore the critical importance of incorporating human behavioral responses into the assessment of environmental policies. Ignoring behavioral feedback can result in maladaptation, where well-intentioned environmental policies unintentionally increase the damage caused by natural hazards. Properly accounting for human behavioral dynamics is essential for developing effective environmental policies that truly mitigate future hazard damage in a changing climate.
