Advancing Fire Weather Research via Interagency Collaboration: The NOAA/USFS Research Partnership

In 2005, the Western Governors' Association (WGA) first articulated the need for closer collaboration between NOAA and the land management agencies to improve our services - and to ensure the best new technology and scientific advances are infused into fire weather information and services. NOAA has taken the WGA advice very seriously and, over the past few years, have followed up by polling users of our fire weather information. This was done both by our Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology, and via an examination of internal and collaborative research activities as conducted by NOAA's Science Advisory Board.

Through these processes, and given the tight budget environment, it's become clear we can't make needed progress alone. We need to call upon our joint expertise, along with the expertise of partners across the federal, state, academic, and research communities.

This talk will outline the NOAA/USFS MOU signed in August, 2012 and the collaborative research already begun with the USFS and other partners.