Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy

Northeast Region
Aerial view of a yellow firefighting helicopter flying over an active forest fire on the Superior National Forest in Minnesota.
Pagami Creek Fire, Superior NF, Minnesota, September 2011. (Photo: Kari Greer)  
Resilient Landscapes - Fire-Adapted Communities - Safe and Effective Wildfire Response  
The Northeast Regional Strategy Committee (NE RSC) provides executive leadership, coordination, and guidance to carry out the Northeast Regional Action Plan while providing a forum for members to guide strategic direction for fire and land management activities. The NE RSC continues to collaboratively recognize, support, and help with National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy goals and implementation efforts.

NE RSC Chair: Brad Simpkins, New Hampshire State Forester
In This Issue
Northeast Region Cohesive Strategy Key Contacts
Chair

New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands

172 Pembroke Road

PO Box 1856

Concord, NH 03302-1856

 

Terry Gallagher

Technical Working Group Lead

U.S. Forest Service Eastern Region

 

Maureen Brooks

Communications Working Group Lead

U.S. Forest Service Northeastern Area S&PF

 

Larry Mastic

Coordinator, Northeast Region

Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy

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September 2015
Dovetail Partners Produced a New Fire Adapted Communities Report
Fire Adapted Communities: Nationwide Efforts and Community-Based Tools for Living with Wildfire

By Matt Frank , Lead Author
Published August 20, 2015
Dovetail Partners logo.
Executive Summary
Wildland fires have shaped North American landscapes for millennia and can provide many ecological benefits including a reduction in non-native plants and pests, removal of undergrowth that prevents regeneration of desired native species, and soil nutrient enrichment. However, today, for a number of reasons, in many places the ecological benefits of fire are outweighed by the potential environmental and economic costs, putting both communities and natural areas at risk.

A new initiative, Fire Adapted Communities, acts as an overarching framework that guides wildland-urban interface communities in addressing wildfire risks. Fire Adapted Communities' approaches include wildfire education, planning, community partnership building, and hands-on activities designed to provide wildland-urban interface citizens with the necessary knowledge, tools, and motivation to prepare their communities for inevitable wildfires. Post-fire recovery is also an area of emphasis. The more steps a community takes toward wildfire preparedness, the more fire adapted it becomes.

The Fire Adapted Communities initiative takes advantage of well-established foundational tools including Community Wildfire Protection Plans, the Firewise Communities Program, and the Ready, Set, Go! Program. Communities can take a number of proactive steps to become fire adapted, including undertaking an assessment of risks in the surrounding environment; implementing planning policies, standards, and regulations; providing outreach and marketing for wildfire preparedness; and collaborating to provide encouragement and assistance for neighborhoods and residents.
 
Download this report, which was prepared by Dovetail Partners, Inc., with support from Promoting Ecosystem Resilience and Fire Adapted Communities Together - a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service, and agencies of the Department of the Interior through a subaward to the Watershed Research and Training Center.
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Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and Wisconsin DNR Partner to Manage Timber in National Forest
By  Ken Krall
August 6, 2015

A path winds through a forest.
(Photo: commons.wikimedia.org)
 
The [Wisconsin] DNR and the U.S. Forest Service have announced an agreement where the state and the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest will partner on forest management within the 1.5 million acres of the state's only national forest. It's under the 2014 Farm Bill called [the] Good Neighbor authority.

Under the agreement, the amount of timber offered for harvest that's in an approved plan will increase 25 percent to more than 100 million board feet in 2016.


[Editor's Note: Here is a link to more information about the Good Neighbor Authority in the 2014 Farm Bill. This new tool offers another means to address the goals of the Cohesive Strategy such as restoring landscapes that include fire dependent ecosystems and reducing hazardous fuels.]

Northeast Regional Strategy Committee Member to Give Keynote Presentation at Backyards & Beyond Conference
Logo for Backyards and Beyond Wildland Fire Education Conference.
George Baker.
  George Baker.
Building High Energy Relationships for Successful Project Outcomes
The success of a project can be predicted by the core energy of the team, team leader, and stakeholders. Chief Baker will make a high-energy presentation on Thursday, October 22, as part of the Backyards & Beyond ® Wildland Fire Education Conference. He will educate and entertain as he reviews the ups and downs to the success of the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge Habitat Management and Fuels Reduction program based on Bruce Schneider's Core Energy model of seven levels of energy and four energy blocks. Attendees will leave with an understanding that "how they show up" can power a group to success.

Hundreds of Northeast Resources Deployed to Assist with Western Fire Season
As  of September 1, 2015
Personnel Currently on Assignment Link to: UTF/Fill Report Banner
Table of Personnel Currently on Fire Assignment, BIA 109, BLM 1, FWS 64, NPS 57, NWS 3, Other 0, State 421, USFS 407, Total 1062.
Pie Chart: Personnel Currently on Assignment BIA,BLM,FWS,NPS,NWS,Other,STATE,USFS.
Graph of All Eastern Area Personnel Currently on Assignment August 26-Sept 01.

Check out the Northeast Region's Fire Science Newsletters for August
Conferences, Meetings, and Training Opportunities



Conferences and Meetings

--Regional--

 

Burning Issues 3 Symposium: How do we integrate competing fire objectives in land management and restoration?
February 2-3, 2016
A Symposium hosted by the Michigan National Guard, Michigan Prescribed Fire Council, Lake States Fire Science Consortium, and Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium

Fort Custer Training Center, Augusta, MI
Registration information available after October 2015
$40 registration fee; lodging and meals separate

--National--

 
October 22-24, 2015
Myrtle Beach, SC 
Pre-conference seminars, October 20-21, 2015
 
Advancing Ecology in Fire Management: Knowledge Transfer through Workshops, Presentations, and Meetings
November 16-20, 2015
San Antonio, TX

The Northeast Regional Strategy Committee (NE RSC) delivers articles and stories each month that demonstrate the collaborative efforts of agencies, organizations and communities supporting and promoting the three goals of the Cohesive Strategy: Restoring Resilient Landscapes, Creating Fire Adapted Communities and Responding to Wildfire. 

 

This news update is our primary communication tool with our partners and the public. Looking for more Northeast Region Cohesive Strategy information or past published news update issues? Visit this Web site.

 

Does your agency, organization, or community have a project or event you'd like to see featured in the NE RSC News Update? 

 

Tell us about it! Just contact  Larry Mastic .
Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry | 304-285-1524 | creger@fs.fed.us | http://www.na.fs.fed.us
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