CHARTER

 

Certified Wildland Fire Investigation Working Team

Of the

National Wildfire Coordinating Group

 

 

I.                Name  -  The Certified Wildland Fire Investigation (CWFI) Working Team of NWCG; hereinafter referred to as the Team.

 

II.              Authority  -  This Team is established pursuant to the charter authority granted to the parent group, NWCG, through the respective Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to accomplish NWCG Mission, Vision, and Beliefs.  The Team has the authority to develop and execute an annual program of work as approved by the Parent group.

 

III.             Purpose  -  This Team is established to develop policies, methods and procedures, and other actions for systematic and science based wildland fire investigations to adequately support criminal prosecution and cost recovery.

 

Objectives of the Team:

 

·       Research and obtain information on other comparable Certified Investigator programs

 

·       Develop certification standards for wildland fire investigators

 

·       Develop and publish training materials

 

·       Develop training courses

 

 

IV.            Membership -  Team membership shall consist of a combination of voting members, non-voting technical specialists, and as-needed subject matter specialists.  The membership will consist of a cross section of parent group agencies, with additional members as identified by the parent group or the Team in order to effectively meet Team purpose.  Teams are strongly encouraged to have an Agency Administrator as a Team member.  All Teams will have at least one State representative.  Individual agencies must confirm approval of working team membership through the Parent Group liaison. 

 

V.              Organization   -  Team leadership shall consist of  a Chair and  Vice-Chair, all elected by the voting members.  The Chair shall serve for a two (2) year period.  At the end of the two-year period, the Vice-Chair will move up to the Chair position and a new Vice-Chair elected.  The succession of Team leadership will be forwarded to NWCG for approval following each election.

 

A liaison from the parent group is assigned to the Team.   The liaison’s role is to:

 

      Provide assignments from the NWCG Chair

      Provide advice and assistance to the WT Team Chair

      Review and receive correspondence between the parent group and the WT

      Participate in at least one WT meetings per year

      Provide advice on strategic planning and direction of NWCG

      Keep the WT informed of Parent group deliberations and meetings

 

VI.             Authority of the Chair -  The Chair is authorized to convene meetings at such times and places as deemed necessary by the Team.  It is expected that meetings will be held to a minimum necessary to accomplish the defined purposes of the Team.  Meeting site selection should follow the NWCG  Business Practices Plan.

 

The Team, through its Chair, has broad authority to make contacts, assign work within the Team, make commitments on behalf of the Team, and commit such resources as are available to the Team.  The Chair may request further resources and authorities as needed.

 

VII.          Reports and Minutes  -  The Team is expected to provide an Annual report to the Parent group at the end of the fiscal year.  The Annual Report will consist of progress and/or completion of activities listed in the Strategic Plan, problems or newly emerging issues, and needed adjustments in budget or resources.  

 

The Team will inform the NWCG website manager of all scheduled meetings to allow for other Team or liaison attendance.

 

Verbatim meeting minutes are not necessary, but a brief outline of topics, issues, and overall proceedings should be documented with a copy sent to the NWCG secretary for dissemination to the Parent Group.

 

VIII.        Coordination  -  Working team activities, products, projects, or recommendations that may affect another working team(s) shall be coordinated with the affected team(s).  The concurrence of that Team(s) will be evident and documented prior to submission to the Parent Group for approval or implementation.

 

 

IX.            Charter Changes/Approval - Changes to this Charter shall be coordinated  with, and agreed upon, by the WT Liaison before submittal to the Parent Group for final approval.  This Charter becomes effective on the date signed by the NWCG Chair.

 

X.              Working Team Sunset Provision – At the completion of the WT’s objectives as stated in the Purpose, or at the request of the NWCG Chair, or upon approval of the WT recommendation, this charter will expire.

 

 

Approved:

 

_________________________________                   ________________                    

NWCG Chair                                                               Date