FUWT Meeting Minutes

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FIRE USE WORKING TEAM

MEETING MINUTES

June 6-7, 2000
Boise, Idaho

 

Name Agency
Members Present:  
Bill Leenhouts U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Phil Range Bureau of Land Management
Dick Bahr National Park Service
Lyle Carlile Bureau of Indian Affairs
Colin Hardy USDA Forest Service Research
John Dickinson  South Carolina Forestry Commission
Members Absent:  
Ken Nehoda California Dept. of Forestry
Dave Bunnell USDA Forest Service
Don Artley NWCG Liaison
Advisors Present:  
Marion Matthews BLM Training
Advisors Absent:  
Cyndie Hogg NARTC Training
Guests:  

Business:

John Dickinson of the South Carolina Forestry Commission replaced Carl Johnson of the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources as the Eastern States representative on the Team.

Smoke Management Guide - The initial draft of the Smoke Management Guide is nearing completion.  The working title is Smoke Management Guide for Prescribed and Wildland Fire 2nd Edition. It contains 2 parts.
  Background information to include a primer on fire in wildlands, fire and emission processes, wildland fire smoke impacts, and regulations for smoke management.
Smoke management information including the need for a smoke management program and fundamental of responsible smoke management. 

The process for completing the Guide and getting it into PMS by the end of the year is:
Draft copies distributed to Team members for agency review including 6 western and eastern states, EPA and TNC.  Agency review should include both fire and air quality programs.  
Brief and provide Guide copies to NWCG at their Fall 2000 meeting. 
Approve replacing existing Guide with the 2nd edition at November 2000 Team meeting.

To prepare for possible emerging issue assignments possibly coming from from the Cerro Grande Fire, the Team reviewed the finding and recommendation in Cerro Grande Prescribed Fire Investigation Report (May 18, 2000) and the Cerro Grande Prescribed Fire Independent Review Board Report (May 26, 2000). Issues identified in these reports that falls within the Teams charter include:
Personnel training and qualification requirements.
Prescribed fire complexity analysis.
Prescribed fire plan review elements.
Availability of fire management resources for prescribed fire operations. 

The Team also discussed its vs. the individual agency's role and responsibilities in prescribed fire planning.

Prescribed Fire Taskbooks - IOSWT indicates that they are near completion and should be in PMS soon. 

 The NPS video "The Missing Fire" was unavailable for viewing by the Team and a decision on its inclusion in PMS was tabled to the next meeting. 

Next Meeting - November 6-9, 2000, Missoula, MT.