Cohesive Wildland Fire Management StrategyNortheast Region

Resilient Landscapes - Fire-Adapted Communities - Safe and Effective Wildfire Response

The Northeast Regional Strategy Committee (NE RSC) provides executive leadership, coordination, and guidance to carry out the Northeast Regional Action Plan while providing a forum for members to guide strategic direction for fire and land management activities. The NE RSC continues to collaboratively recognize, support, and help with National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy goals and implementation efforts.

NE RSC Chair: Brad Simpkins, New Hampshire State Forester

In This IssueTraining Opportunities

Quick Links

Training Opportunities

2014 New York Wildfire and Incident Management

August 2014The Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership:Collaboration for a Resilient Landscape

In 2008, the Shawangunk Ridge experienced the largest wildfire to hit New York State in nearly 15 years.   The 3,000-acre fire at Minnewaska State Park Preserve threatened nearly 30 nearby homes and involved over 400 firefighters.

In response to the blaze, members of the Shawangunk

Ridge Biodiversity Partnership came together with local communities and emergency responders to develop a multiagency Fire Management Plan for the more than 30,000 acres of protected lands on the Shawangunk Ridge. They also

AcademyOctober 23-November 2, 2014The Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission's Wildfire Task Force will hold the 17th annual New York Wildfire and Incident Management Academy from October 23 through November 2, 2014, at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY.Click here for more information.

Eastern Area and National Wildland Fire Academies and Training

Quick LinksCohesive Strategy

Fire Adapted Communities Coalition

Dovetail Partners

Northeast Region Cohesive Strategy

developed a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for the surrounding towns and villages.Read the full article.

Home

Introducing the North Atlantic Fire Science ConsortiumThere is a fundamental misconception that wildland fire is an insignificant disturbance in the region. In reality, research shows that fire historically played a vital role in many of the ecosystems of the Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada. Additionally, small, but significant fire-adapted natural communities and highly flammable fuel types are present throughout the region. The management of these systems is complex and can be contentious because of public perceptions and limited local research. The changing climate has the potential to further alter the role fire plays in these ecosystems.

Fire and forest management activities in the North Atlantic are complicated by dense populations and a uniquely challenging web of land ownerships, management organizations, political boundaries, fragmented ecosystems, and regulations. While the opportunity for science-based fire management in the region has expanded greatly over the last 30 years, the need has grown for a consortium that will link management agencies with researchers.Read more.

Home

Key Contacts

Brad SimpkinsChairNew Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands172 Pembroke RoadPO Box 1856Concord, NH 03302-1856

Terry GallagherTechnical Working Group LeadU.S. Forest Service, Eastern Region

Maureen BrooksCommunications Working Group LeadU.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area S&PF

Larry MasticCoordinator, Northeast RegionCohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy

The Northeast Regional Strategy Committee (NE RSC) delivers articles and stories each month that demonstrate the collaborative efforts of agencies, organizations, and communities supporting and promoting the three goals of the Cohesive Strategy: Restoring Resilient Landscapes, Creating Fire-Adapted Communities, and Responding to Wildfire.

This news update is our primary communication tool with our partners and

What is MTBS?

Locations of all 2012 MTBS fires mapped across the Continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. (Map by Jennifer Lecker, Remote Sensing Applications Center)MTBS (Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity) is a multiyear project designed to consistently map the location, extent, burn severity, and boundaries of fires that have burned since 1984 across all lands of the United States. MTBS data is used at local and regional levels to evaluate ecological impacts of fire, and at the national level to identify trends in burn severity. This information is necessary for monitoring the effectiveness and effects of the Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy and the Health Forests Restoration Act.Read the full article.

Home

NASF Partners to Launch Wildfire Mitigation Award

the public. Looking for more Northeast Region Cohesive Strategy information or past published news update issues? Click here.

Does your agency, organization, or community have a project or event you'd like to see featured in the NE RSC News Update?

Tell us about it! Just contact Larry Mastic.

Photo by U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe BasinThe National Association of State Foresters, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and National Fire Protection Association are pleased to announce that the Wildfire Mitigation Awards will launch in 2015. The call for nominations will go live in September 2014.

The national awards will recognize outstanding service in wildfire mitigation efforts and activities to increase public recognition and awareness of the need for continuing mitigation efforts.

In response to an overwhelming number of great wildfire mitigation program efforts, the awards are the highest national honor one can receive for outstanding work and significant program impact in wildfire mitigation.

The 2015 Wildfire Mitigation Awards will be presented at the Reno, Nevada-based Wildland Urban-Interface Conference in March 2015.

We are grateful for the collaboration with our partners to launch this exciting new award. Check back on the NASF Blog for nomination information beginning September 1, 2014.

Home

Options for Respiratory Protection in the Wildland/WUI EnvironmentAdditional research and standard guidance is needed

By Erik Litzenberg

Published Tuesday, July 1, 2014 | From the July 2014 Issue of FireRescue

Photo by Keith CullomThe importance of safety in wildland and wildland/urban interface (WUI) firefighting is clear. Less clear, however, is how we, as professionals, should address cardiorespiratory safety in those environments.

In entry-level classes, all firefighter medical classes, and most annual refreshers, students learn or are reminded that breathing in superheated air has an immediate and significant detrimental effect. Even in cases of extreme exposure, such as a burn-over, firefighters who survive the superficial burns they suffered sometimes die due to significant inhalation of superheated gasses.

Clear standards have been established to prevent respiratory issues when firefighters are exposed to smoke, particulate matter, and airborne toxins during indoor firefighting efforts. Unfortunately, clear standards have not yet been developed to protect firefighters from those same exposures in an outdoor environment. Further, there are hazards with smoke and toxin inhalation that are

less obvious, but have a significant long-term effect on firefighter health.Read more.

Source: FirefighterNation NOW, July 9, 2014Home

Can Public Outreach Increase Smoke Acceptance?

Smoke from a controlled burn in Hayfork, CA,drifts away from the community. Photo by Michelle Medley-DanielThe Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network hub organizations are in the process of finalizing their work plans for the next 12 months and at least two (those working in Flagstaff, AZ, and Deschutes County, Oregon) are planning some outreach related to increasing public acceptance of smoke from controlled burns.

So it was timely when I saw a link   in last week's Fire Learning Network   e-newsletter to a new Joint Fire Science Programpublication by Eric Toman, Christine Olsen, and Paige Fisher. Their project was designed to examine the "social acceptability of smoke management practices, factors influencing acceptability, and the effectiveness of different communication approaches on acceptability and beliefs."

Study sites were in Oregon, Montana, northern California, and South Carolina. In the final phase of the project, the research team used information gleaned from questionnaires to develop and test 13 different messages related to smoke. Investigators wanted to understand the "effects of message framing on participant knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes toward smoke emissions management and prescribed burn use in addition to their influence on information seeking and processing behaviors."Read more.

By  Wendy Fulks, July 29, 2014Source: Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network

Home

Minnesota Moose Habitat Collaborative

The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA) received funding from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC) to enhance habitat for Minnesota moose.

Project Collaborators and Locations:

Organizations: The Nature ConservancyCounties: Cook, Lake, and St. LouisTribal Agencies: 1854 Treaty Authority, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior ChippewaFederal: Superior National ForestUniversity: University of MN DuluthState Agencies: MN Department of Natural Resources

July 1, 2012, marked the beginning of the Minnesota Moose Habitat Collaborative Phase I of spending. A total of $960,000 in awarded grant funds were paired with over $400,000 in matching funds to ensure that moose habitat in the northeastern region of Minnesota increased to over 3,500 acres. Funds for this appropriation are expected to be spent over a 4-year span.

On July 1, 2013, an additional $2 million was appropriated for spending that will include over 5,000 acres of prime moose habitat enhancements and fire adapted ecosystem restoration.

For more information on MDHA's involvement with the LSOHC, contact Kim Nelson or call (218)-327-1103 ext. 14. More project information is on the the LSOHC website.

Home

Eastern Region of U.S. Forest Service Discusses the Cohesive Strategy

The Regional Leadership Team met in Milwaukee the week of July 21, 2014, to discuss landscape restoration, resiliency, and the Cohesive Fire Strategy to better understand how these affect Region 9 priorities for work on the ground both now and in the future.

Larry Mastic, Northeast Regional Strategy Committee Coordinator, presented an overview of the current status of the Cohesive Strategy in the Northeast. Discussions were led by Mark Boche, Regional Fire and Aviation Director; Nancy Ross, Regional Renewable Resource Director; and Tony Erba, Regional Planning Director. Central to these discussions was a review of the recently completed Region 9 Resource Integration Study Team Report. This report was chartered to 1) learn how integrated resource planning, budgeting, implementation, and reporting can advance landscape scale efforts to restore ecosystems for public services and benefits; and 2) recommend resource integration principles and processes that can be implemented and used more effectively across the Region.

Work will continue to evaluate the recommendations and determine how best to continue to improve integration of the Northeast Cohesive Strategy Regional Action Plan; expand partnership opportunities; and overcome existing barriers, real and perceived, to better integrate resource management across the Region.

The Eastern Region is one of nine Forest Service administrative regions. It consists of more than 12 million acres spread across 17 national forests and one national tallgrass prairie in the East and Midwest. Over 40% of the U.S. population lives within this area.

Home

USDA Awards Funds to Promote Development of Rural Wood to Energy ProjectsWASHINGTON, July 15, 2014 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the award of more than $2.5 million in grants to develop wood energy teams in 11 states and an additional $1.25 million for nine wood energy projects. Northeast States receiving grants include New York, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Minnesota.

"Renewable wood energy is part of the Obama Administration's

'all of the above' energy strategy," Vilsack said. "Working with our partners, the Forest Service is supporting development of wood energy projects that promote sound forest management, expand regional economies, and create new rural jobs."

Potential opportunities will also be created by these projects for an economically viable approach to reducing wildfire risk from hazardous fuels.

To view the rest of the press release, click here.To view specific projects approved for funding, click   here .

Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry | 304-285-1524 | creger@fs.fed.us |http://www.na.fs.fed.us

11 Campus BlvdSuite 200

Newtown Square, PA 19073