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Background:
The National Wildfire Coordinating Group
(NWCG) is an operational group designed to coordinate programs
of the participating wildfire management agencies. The Smoke
Committee (SmoC) has been established by NWCG to provide interagency
leadership, coordination and integration of air resource and
fire management objectives to support overall land management
goals. Air quality is critical to human health and welfare.
Fire is a important disturbance process in many wildland ecosystems.
SmoC strives to support successful management and utilization
of wildland fire while appropriately addressing smoke impacts,
to public health, welfare and safety.
Objectives:
- Improve communications and understanding
of the air quality rules and regulations pertinent to wildland
fire management.
- Develop consistent recommendations for wildland
fire management which account for the air quality impacts
of planned and unplanned ignition for NWCG and Committee member
agencies. Provide a forum for open discussions on air quality
issues associated with smoke from planned and unplanned wildland
fires to promote coordination and collaboration between agencies,
programs and partners.
- Assess and advance technical products and
training to build wildland fire management field capabilities
to address the air quality impacts of planned and unplanned
ignitions and meet environmental rules, regulations, guidelines
and concerns specifically focused on the interface of air
quality and wildland management.
- Improve communication and understanding
of the role of fire in the ecosystems of the United States
and how land management agencies address air quality issues
in planning and operations.
Membership:
Members are from the Bureau of Land Management,
Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of
Indian Affairs, US Forest Service, National Association of State
Foresters (eastern and western representatives), National Association
of State Foresters, Natural Resources Conservation Service,
and National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA). Other
subject matter experts and stakeholders contribute as needed.
Subcommittees:
- Smoke Managers Subcommittee
works to provide relevant technical, administrative, and organizational
information and feedback for operational smoke managers, forecasters
and modelers.
- Technical Smoke Topics Subcommittee
address technical issues eg. Emission inventories and monitoring.
- Training Subcommittee advance
training in wildland fire.
Activities:
Policy: SmoC tracks and
develops interagency strategies for addressing air quality
regulations and the management of smoke from wildland fires
addressing criteria pollutants and standards, greenhouse gas
emissions and climate change. Examples of this include: General
Conformity Rule revisions, Exceptional Events Rule, and the
revisions of EPA Interim Air Quality Policy for Prescribed
and Wildland Fire.
Communications: SmoC activities
are communicated through:
- Briefing papers for inter/intra-agency
distribution and posted on the web,
- Discussions briefing papers and postings
of emerging topics to the public www.myfirecommunity.net
“Air Quality and Fire Issues” neighborhood.
- The national smoke management website
at www.nifc.gov/smoke.
- Periodic webinars on emerging issues or
latest research in smoke management Participation in key
interagency conferences and workshops
Training: SmoC develops
training materials for land managers (burners and line officers)
and air quality regulators aimed at balancing land management
needs, which includes the use of fire, while addressing air
quality (public health and welfare) goals. SmoC has partnered
with the University of Idaho developing a website (http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/smoc/)
, which has interactive training on “Smoke Management
and Air Quality for Land Managers” that reflects the
latest in air quality regulations, and an online Workshop
– “Effective Communication for Smoke Management
in a Changing Air Quality Environment”. The website
also hosts the “Smokepedia”; a glossary of smoke
and air quality terms and acronyms. Other projects include
revising the 2001 Smoke Management Guide for Wildland and
Prescribed Fire and a smoke assessment of training provided
by NWCG and other agencies. Future work will include revising
RX-410.
Leadership - For more information
please contact:
Subcommittee Leadership
SmoC Members
Ann
Acheson, Forest Service,
aacheson@fs.fed.us
202-205-0800 |
Gordon
Andersson, NACAA, Minnesota
Gordon.andersson@state.mn.us
651-757-2197 |
Pat
Brewer, National Park Service
patricia_f_brewer@nps.gov
303 969-2153 |
Mike
Broughton, Fish and Wildlife Service
Mike_Broughton@fws.gov
303-914-3809 |
Ed
Brunson, Bureau of Indian Affairs
ed.brunson@bia.gov
615-564-6780 |
Vince
Carver, Fish and Wildlife Service
Vince_carver@fws.gov
252-796-3004 x229 |
Robert
Durham, US Army
robert.durham2@us.army.mil
571-256-9722 |
Tammy
Eagan, NACAA, Florida
tammy.eagan@dep.state.fl.us
850-921-9567 |
Joe-Riley
Epps, Bureau of Land Management
Joe-Riley_Epps@nifc.blm.gov
208-387-5354 |
Shawn
Ferreria, NACAA, California
shawn.ferreria@valleyair.org
559-230-5823 |
Kevin
Harvell, North Carolina Division of Forest Resources,
NASF Eastern Representative, kevin.harvell@ncdenr.gov
336-956-2111 |
Dan
Johnson, NACAA, WESTAR
djohnson@westar.org
206-254-9145 |
Laura
McCarthy, The Nature Conservancy
lmccarthy@tnc.org
505-988-1542 ext 213 |
Jennifer
Ridgway, NACAA
San Joaquin Valley, CA
Jennifer.ridgway@valleyair.gov
(559) 230-5841 |
Kerry
Rogers, Bureau of Land Management
Kerry_Rogers@blm.gov
202-912-7158 |
Nick
Yonker, Oregon Department of Forestry
NASF Western Representative
nyonker@odf.state.or.us
503-945-7451 |
Thomas
Vorac, US Army
thomas.vorac@us.army.mil
571-256-9723 |
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NWCG Branch Coordinator
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