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

Important Links

Northeast Regional Cohesive Strategy Committee

 

Forest Fire Compacts

Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact

 

Big Rivers Forest Fire Management Compact

 

Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact

 

Middle Atlantic Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact

 

Eastern Area Coordinating Group

 

Quick Links

Cohesive Strategy

 

Fire Adapted Communities Coalition

 

Dovetail Partners

 

Science and Joint Fire Science Consortium & Exchanges

National Joint Fire Science Program

 

North Atlantic Fire Science Consortium

 

Lake States Fire Science Consortium

 

Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium

 

Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center

 

Social Media

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Top
August 2015
Wildland Fire Leadership Council Meets in Ashland for Local Cohesive Strategy Perspective and National Focus Areas
The Wildland Fire Leadership Council (WFLC) met in Ashland, OR, in late July to visit Cohesive Strategy implementation successes and hear from local collaborative partners about what it takes for success to occur. On day two of the visit, WFLC members discussed focus areas for national action over the next 18 months, including:
  • Promoting cross boundary collaboratives;
  • Working on smoke and air quality issues;
  • Addressing environmental compliance issues;  
  • Engaging communities in Cohesive Strategy behaviors; and
  • Developing and implementing a robust communications strategy to support the identified objectives.
A man talks to a room full of people.
Ashland Mayor John Stromberg shares lessons learned from the local Cohesive Strategy efforts. (Photo: Kate Lighthall)
 
The New Approach to Fighting Wildfires
[While oriented to the Western U.S., this article is good food for thought for all wildland fire managers. - Ed.]
 
Fire smolders on a hillside.
  Commissary Fire. (Photo: U.S. Forest Service)
In this article, Stephen Pyne considers the contributions of historical fire and land management to the current situation in our landscapes in the West and offers a strategy of resilience that seeks to make the best of the hand we are being dealt. Pyne is a professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University and the author of the forthcoming Between Two Fires: A Fire History of Contemporary America.

Read the full article.
Wildland-Urban Interface Focus: Using a Probability Model to Map Ignition Hazards
A fire burns trees next to a road in the woods.
  Photo: Nick Skowronski
Check out the North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange's July research brief that highlights a paper by Peters and others (2013) on modeling wildfire ignition risk across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Logo for the July 2015 research brief for resource managers.
Ely Residents Encouraged to Learn How to Protect Their Neighborhood from Wildfire Risks and Take Action During Firewise Demonstration Days this Summer
Minneapolis, MN -- Dovetail Partners, Fire Adapted Communities, the National Fire Protection Association's Firewise Communities Program, the Morse/Fall Lake Township Fire Department, and the Eagles Nest Township and Fire Department sponsored three FREE Firewise Demonstration Days this July in Ely, MN. The goal of Firewise is to maintain a safe zone around homes in order to mitigate wildfire risks, inhibit the spread of wildland fire and protect neighborhoods. This was an opportunity for area homeowners to learn about Firewise best practices and reduce risk to their homes by implementing wildfire prevention strategies.

Jeff Jackson, NE Firewise Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, conducted Firewise Demonstrations at each location. Local volunteer fire department representatives were present in addition to Firewise Evaluators who aided in signing up landowners for a FREE Firewise Home Evaluation. During the 2015 Ely Firewise Demo Days this July, the event sponsors determined Chipper Day dates for each road involved to conduct future hazardous woody fuels mitigation work. All area landowners were encouraged to aid in organizing neighbors for their own Demonstration and Chipper Days events.

Read the full news release about these events.
Two logos. Firewise communities and Fire Adapted Communities.
Wildfires and Drones Don't Mix
Thursday, July 30, 2015

[This is a significant safety message from NASF worth
repeating! - Ed.]

Responding to recent incidents in which unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as "drones," USDA poster titled If you fly we can't. interfered with manned aircraft involved in wildland firefighting operations, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is supporting the U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service in their simple message to drone operators: If you fly, we can't.

"Flying a drone near aerial firefighting aircraft doesn't just pose a hazard to the pilots," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "When aircraft are grounded because an unmanned aircraft is in the vicinity, lives are put at greater risk."

Read the full article from the National Association of State Foresters Web site.
Forests Partner with Michigan DNR to Share Fire Prevention Messages
Smokey Bear recently joined employees from the Huron-Manistee National Forests to share Forest Service messages at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, MI. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MI DNR) partnered with the Forests to share fire prevention messages by sending an engine and fire Humvee to the festival as well as outfitting Smokey with the proper attire. This is the third joint effort between the Forest Service and MI DNR to do public outreach this year. It kicked off with a first-place Smokey Bear ice sculpture and a successful fee-free Get Outdoors Day event.

Source: U.S. Forest Service Chief's Desk, July 17, 2015

Letterboxing in Connecticut
On a recent visit with the Connecticut State Fire Supervisor, a Northeastern Area (NA) fire staff member learned about the State's use of "letterboxing" as a method of connecting with their public and providing a unique way for sharing educational information about natural resources. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online. There are about 20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America alone. The State plans to include information about the use of prescribed fire in letterboxes hidden near burn areas. NA supports Connecticut's fire program through State Fire Assistance funding.

Source: U.S. Forest Service Chief's Desk, July 17, 2015

Be Ember Aware: Cottages and Cabins
Be Ember Aware: Cottages and Cabins
Be Ember Aware: Cottages and Cabins

Be Ember Aware: Cottages and Cabins
is a 5-minute video that addresses wildfire concerns and gives preparedness suggestions for the owner of a seasonal cabin or cottage. The video features footage from the 2013 Germann Road Fire that burned 7,500 acres in northwest Wisconsin as well as interviews with people in our Firewise Communities and others directly affected by wildfire. The feel of the video was meant to be less doom and gloom and more "we can do this." The video also placed some emphasis on emergency vehicle access, which is more likely to be an issue with seasonal property owners.

This video is part of an educational campaign designed by the Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact prevention committee. The campaign will include lawn debris bags, flyers, and displays along with videos. These items will be assembled into kits and given to lake/homeowner associations, Firewise Communities, and other partners in communities at risk.
Funding Opportunity Notice from JFSP
July 17, 2015

The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) intends to request proposals through one or more separate Funding Opportunity Notice (FON) announcements beginning approximately September 15, 2015, and remaining open through November 13, 2015. Logo of the Joint Fire Science Program.
This early alert announced these potential topics, which may change before the final topics are selected in September:

FON 1 (Primary)
  • Implications of changing ecosystems
  • Social, organizational, and institutional barriers to implementing prescribed fire
  • Restoration of sagebrush habitat in the Great Basin -- operational applications
  • Fire effects on tree mortality
  • Implications of managed-perimeter and burn-out wildfire response strategies
  • Post-fire landscape management
  • Regional Needs
    • Regional Needs -- Oak Woodlands & Forests Fire Consortium
      Prescribed fire effects on timber products
    • Regional Needs -- Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists
      Seasonal effects of prescribed burning on fuels and vegetation
    • Regional Needs -- Southern Fire Exchange
      Prescribed fire and smoke emission

FON 2
  • Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment (FASMEE)   

FON 3
  • New Science Initiative - Ecological and social dimensions of resilient landscapes   

FON 4
  • Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) award

Read the full notice of intent
.
TRUST: A Planning Guide for Wildfire Agencies & Practitioners
This planning guide describes how to build and evaluate  trust among stakeholders, brings clarity to the trust concept, and focuses specifically on use in fire management settings. Cover of a planning guide for wildfire agencies and practitioners.

This guide for fire management personnel is the outcome of an international collaboration of researchers and practitioners/field managers that draws on research and management experience in Australia, Canada, and the United States.

While each local setting has its own distinguishing features and each country has its own agency organizational structures, research suggests there are common characteristics that lead to trust in relationships. The guide focuses on these central elements.
Conferences, Meetings, and Training Opportunities


Training Courses

Camp Edwards-Joint Base, Cape Cod, MA

Click below to see announcements and course registration info for each course.

Introduction to Fire Effects  (RX-310)
September 21-25, 2015 (0800 to 1700)
This training will have special emphasis placed on Pine Barrens and other systems common to Massachusetts
 
Fire Operations in The Wildland/Urban Interface  (S-215)
September 24-25, 2015 (0730 to 1730)

Firefighting Training  (S-130)
September 21-23, 2015 (0800 to 1700)
Blended (students will also complete online work for S-130/S-190/L-180/ICS-100/IS-700)

Conferences and Meetings

--Regional--
Michigan Prescribed Fire Council Annual Meeting
September 10-11, 2015
Camp Grayling, MI

Registration deadline: September 5, 2015. Click here to register.


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--

2015 National Association of State Foresters Annual Meeting - Lake Tahoe
September 14-17, 2015
Resort at Squaw Creek
Olympic Valley, CA
 
October 22-24, 2015
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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