FY2003 Accomplishment Report

The Wildland Fire Education Working Team worked on many tasks this year to improve team operations. These tasks included developing a team handbook that includes protocols for interacting with other working teams, utilizing the budget, and organizing meeting agendas. The team also completed a comprehensive history of team activities and projects.

The update of the Webliography, the electronic bibliography of fire education sites, was completed (FY2002 funding) and is available on the NWCG website.

An insert to the nationally distributed Weekly Reader was developed and distributed to approximately 791,000 fourth grade students and 35,000 teachers in November 2002. The project is 100% complete and cost $85,000 (FY2002 funding

The team established two task groups during FY 2003. The first task group is the National Fire Messaging Task group that is comprised of three team members and a representative of the Fire Use Working Team. The team is developing strategies that address the goal in our strategic plan of building awareness of the role of fire in ecosystems. The task group is working with Fleishman Hillard to develop a long-term communication plan to build public acceptance of the role of fire in ecosystems and drive support for forest management efforts. Phase 1 of the project will develop a full, one-year communication program and products, in addition to an outline of considerations for a five-year approach. The project is ongoing and phase 1utilized $85,000 in funds.

The second task group was developed to implement a NWCG approved three-year strategy, designed to incorporate the National Fire Prevention and Education Team (NFPET) program into the national mobilization and resource systems. A coordinator was hired to manage implementation of the strategy and to manage the national mobilization and dispatch of NFPETs. The transition of responsibilities to the coordinator, which started on July 1, 2003, was smoothly and successfully completed. $106,000 was budgeted for this year's portion of the three-year project.

Team members also represented the WFEWT in the following areas: Wildland Fire unit addition to the NFPA program “Risk Watch”, the interagency fire prevention coordinators group (NIFC CORE group), and the NE area Fire Ecology poster development project.

The team completed two projects for the parent group: the NWCG exhibit and an NWCG brochure.

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