5A.5
Guidelines for Planning and Implementing Wildland Fire Use—Update of the Wildland and Prescribed Fire Management Policy Implementation Procedures Reference Guide
G. Thomas Zimmerman, USDA Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
Managing wildland fires for resource benefits requires significant documentation to chronicle the decision process of Agency Administrators and fire managers. This documentation process has been the cornerstone of successful applications of prescribed natural fire, alternative suppression actions, and wildland fire use over the past decade. The document, "Wildland and Prescribed Fire Management Policy, Implementation Procedures Reference Guide," prepared in 1998, represented an interagency effort designed to provide standardized procedures to guide immediate implementation of the policy described in the 1995 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Program Review. The purpose of that document was to provide consistent operational level interpretation. It provided direction to field units requiring specific procedures and formats for various implementation levels, particularly the policy element described as the appropriate management response to wildland fire occurrence. The progressive documentation process for managing wildland fire use described in that guide was an updated version of past procedures and designed to assist managers in implementing fire use management activities available under the new policy. Following the 2000 fire season, a new policy review and update was completed. To improve the wildland fire use program and to provide new planning and implementation direction consistent with the 2001 Federal Fire Policy Recommendations, the Wildland and Prescribed Fire Management Policy Implementation Procedures Reference Guide has been revised and will be provided to fire managers. This paper describes the revised reference guide in terms of new and revised procedures for use in planning and implementing wildland fire use.
Session 5A, Wildland Fire Use (Special Session) (Track I)
Thursday, 20 November 2003, 8:00 AM-2:30 PM
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