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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.
Brad Simpkins, New Hampshire State Forester
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Northeast Region Cohesive Strategy Key Contacts
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Chair Chief Fire Warden Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation Larry Mastic Coordinator, Northeast Region Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy |
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Forest Fire Compacts
Quick Links
Science and Joint Fire Science Consortiums & Exchanges
Social Media
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December 2018
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Regional Fire History Surveys to be Published
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 Dr. Stephen J. Pyne is in the process of producing a set of Regional Surveys of American Fire History. Among these are volumes on the Northeast and one titled Slopovers that would include shorter surveys of Alaska, the oak woodlands, and the Pacific Northwest. This October 2018 report includes interesting prologues for the four regions that are in the process of being published - oak woodlands, Pacific Northwest, Northeast, and Alaska. Read the final report. Read the full Regional Fire History Surveys article.
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Megan's Corner - December 2018
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Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment Fuel Calibrations: See
last month's fire newsletter for some general information on the upcoming calibrations and the three regions we have defined for separate workshops.
- WHO SHOULD ATTEND: This is your one big chance to influence the results of the region's fire hazard mapping and the LANDFIRE fuels remap. You should encourage as many fire staff and ecologists familiar as possible from each of our 20 States to attend. Attendee expertise ranges from fire behavior fuel model experts, to those who use the Wildland Fire Decision Support System on occasion, to those not very familiar with Fire Behavior Fuel Models (FBFMs) who want to soak it all in, to those unfamiliar with FBFMs but who plan to use the results of this risk assessment. There will be remote options for attendance, but in-person participation is more effective. See an example of the materials Pyrologix provides prior to the calibrations to identify important folks in your State and prepare for them yourselves.
- WHEN & WHERE:
- Great Lakes: Milwaukee, U.S. Forest Service Region 9 Office: 2/7-8/2019
- East Coast: Albany, NY: 3/14-15/2019
- Lower Midwest to West Virginia: Indianapolis: 3/18-19/2019
- More to come as we figure out details.
Read the full Megan's Corner article.
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New Report: A New Home Built to Wildfire-Resistant Codes Can be Constructed for Roughly the Same Cost as a Typical Home
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A study produced by Headwaters Economics and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety examines the cost of new construction and retrofitting four of the components most vulnerable to wildfire: the roof, exterior walls, deck, and landscaping. It also compares three statewide or national building codes that have been developed for construction in wildfire-prone lands, including the International Code Council's International Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Code, the National Fire Protection Association's Standard 1144, and the California Building Code Chapter 7A.
While the perceived cost of wildfire-resistant building codes has been a commonly cited barrier to consideration by some communities, little research has previously examined how much it would actually cost the homeowner or builder to comply with such regulations. This new report documents negligible cost differences between building a typical home and a home constructed using wildfire-resistant materials and design features.
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Diagram of four home components that are the most vulnerable to wildfire. (Courtesy graphic by Headwaters Economics and IIBHS)
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Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire Program Announces New Communities for 2019
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November 2018
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Communities participating in the CPAW program.
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Over the course of one year, the CPAW program will provide customized assistance to these communities including land use planning recommendations, training and capacity building, and specialized research. Gunnison County and Pinetop-Lakeside will also receive wildfire hazard assessments in partnership with the [U.S. Forest Service] Rocky Mountain Research Station. All communities will receive ongoing implementation support, networking with other CPAW communities, and data and science as needed and as funding allows.
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Friday Flash: NEW Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS) Version 3.1.1
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 Firescience.gov Friday Flash eNews, Issue 277
November 16, 2018
This 2-minute video highlights new features in Version 3.1.1 of the Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS). IFTDSS is a web-based application designed to make fuels treatment planning and analysis more efficient and effective. It provides access to data and models through one simple user interface. It is available to all interested users, regardless of agency or organizational affiliation. View more information on the IFTDSS home web page, take an IFTDSS User Survey, and explore a factsheet about the new version of IFTDSS.
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IFTDSS Version 3.1.1 is Here!
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Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 Transforms Field of Emergency Management
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October 5, 2018
FEMA Release HQ-18-142
WASHINGTON - Today, President Donald J. Trump signed the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA) into law as part of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018.
As the 2017 hurricane season and California wildfires demonstrated, impacts from a disaster can be devastating. With the economic disruption and the cost of disasters on the rise nationwide, FEMA worked closely with Congress over the past year as they considered, and ultimately passed, important reforms to federal disaster programs.
These reforms acknowledge the shared responsibility of disaster response and recovery, aim to reduce the complexity of FEMA and build the nation's capacity for the next catastrophic event.
"This transformational legislation will allow the emergency management community to continue to improve the way we deliver assistance before, during and after disasters," said FEMA Administrator Brock Long. "We'll never be able to eliminate all risks, but this enables us to take action now so that individuals and communities will be better positioned to recover more quickly when disasters do occur. We thank Congress, the administration and our state and local partners in their efforts to move this critical reform package forward."
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Conferences, Meetings, and Training Opportunities
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--Regional--
NE RSC Face-to-Face Meeting
January 28-29, 2019
Portland, ME
Northeast Forest Fire Protection Compact Winter Meeting
January 29-31, 2019
Portland, ME
January 30-31, 2019
University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center
Cloquet, MN
February 5-6, 2019
Fort Custer National Training Center
Battle Creek, MI
Annual FLN Leaders-TREX Coaches-IPBN Workshop
February 11-15, 2019
Russellville, AR (more information coming soon)
March 26-28, 2019
Peppermill Resort
Reno, NV
April 1-3, 2019
Denver, CO
Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network Workshop
April 22-26, 2019
Location TBD (more information coming soon)
April 29-May 3, 2019
Albuquerque, NM
July 23-25, 2019
State College, PA
5th Biennial Shortleaf Pine Conference
October 1-3, 2019
Van Buren, MO
October 21-24, 2019
Plymouth, MA
November 18-22, 2019
Tucson, AZ
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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?
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