Related Information
| Forest Health and Wildfire Initiative |
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Sustainable healthy forests and rangelands help provide clean and abundant water, clean air, resources for renewable energy, carbon sequestration, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. Leads for this issue are Governors C.L. "Butch" Otter (ID) and Ted Kulongoski (OR). Financial support is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Interior. Wildfires have always been part of our Western landscape. However, America’s wildfire environment has changed. Our forests are denser and unhealthier and our climate is hotter and dryer. These factors have contributed to the increasing frequency of large fires and increasing costs. Forest fragmentation and the rapid expansion of the wildland-urban interface have also complicated managing the landscapes - and the wildfires that burn across them. The links below provide assessment information on the health of our forests.
National Wildland Fire Leadership Council Gov. Ted Kulongoski (Ore.) has been appointed by the Obama Administration to represent the Western Governors’ Association on the national Wildland Fire Leadership Council, which coordinates and implements wildland fire and fuels policies, goals and management activities. The WFLC is an intergovernmental committee of federal, state, tribal, county and municipal officials and is considered a model for collaborative and effective leadership. At a recent meeting, the council emphasized the need for states and stakeholders to be partners in developing and implementing a new cohesive wildfire management strategy. Key elements include improved coordination and communication in preventing wildfires, creating fire-adapted communities, suppressing wildfires, and restoring and managing public lands at a landscape scale. As an active WFLC member, the WGA has led efforts to convene diverse stakeholders to develop and implement shared solutions for natural resource management issues. The WGA’s Forest Health Advisory Committee also is recommending that a Cohesive Wildfire Management Strategy address the following:
The Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture, who oversee WFLC, have until October to submit to Congress a joint report that contains a cohesive wildfire management strategy.
Forest Health Advisory Committee Members: Committee membership list (June 2010) -- Committee member biographies Meetings: March 29 & 30, 2010 in Reno, Nev. -- FHAC Meeting -- Meeting notes -- Agenda October 22, 2009, Boise, Idaho -- Meeting notes -- Agenda
FHAC Documents The FHAC workplan document is a DRAFT outline of the committee’s future work plans. FHAC Subcommittee Status Reports (3/20/10)* Climate Change/Adaptation (forestland focus)
FHAC Subcommittee reports on priorities from: Resources: Legislative, Financial; 10 Year Strategy/National Fire Plan; Wildland Urban Interface/Community Protection; Climate Change/Adaptation (forestland focus) FHAC Subcommittee reports on priorities from: Large Scale Treatments - Public and Private Lands; Woody Biomass Utilization - Bioenergy; Invasives, Insects & Diseases Landscape Scale Study 2010 -- Final report on large scale hazardous fuels reduction projects and collaborative groups study completed by Cheryl Renner, Renner Associates, Planners. The FHAC Large Scale Treatments Public/Private Lands Subcommittee will be using key components of this study as they move forward on plans for a fall workshop and report to the governors.
FHAC Background The Western Governors’ Association, Forest Health Advisory Committee has played a key role in the development of the National Fire Plan. Lives, homes and natural resources have been saved, protected and restored through implementation of the National Fire Plan and the 10 Year Comprehensive Strategy Implementation Plan. Recognizing the need for a broader focus on forest and rangeland health, the Governors’ Forest Health Advisory Committee was re-formed in December, 2008 to address a wider range of issues, including sustainable forest management, forest mortality from insects and diseases, and a need to increase the awareness of the use of woody biomass for energy production. The FHAC work plan will also reflect aggressive action to resolve agency differences and to work collaboratively towards finding solutions to the devastation occurring in our western forests. See below for more information on the FHAC. The Forest Health Advisory Committee membership includes non-governmental entities representing a variety of interests, including communities, environmental conservation groups and international organizations. Governmental representation includes federal, state and county level agencies that deal with forestry and energy issues. The advisory committee also continues to work on implementing the National Fire Plan and the 10 Year Comprehensive Strategy for reducing wildland fire risks. Most significant this past year was the completion of the Community Guide to Preparing and Implementing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. A group called Partners in Fire Education is working with the National Wildfire Coordination Group on developing educational messages to help the public understand the role of fire in a forested ecosystem.
The lead governor for the Forest Health Program is Gov. Ted Kulongoski (Oregon). Michael Carrier, Policy Director for the Governor's Natural Resources Office, serves as Oregon's representative on the WGA Staff Council. Ann Walker is WGA's Program Director for Forest and Rangeland Health. National Fire Plan - 10 Year Strategy WGA worked with the Forest Service, Department of the Interior, states, tribes, counties and interested stakeholders to develop an historic comprehensive plan outlining long-term wildland fire management strategy for the West. A revised implementation plan outlines specific goals, actions, and timeframes. The plan supports the 10-year Comprehensive Strategy endorsed by the WGA and the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture. WGA actively works with its Forest Health Advisory Committee to help implement, monitor and oversee progress. WGA, and a coalition of other interests, are encouraging full implementation of all goals in the 10-year Comprehensive Strategy and Implementation Plan. In order to ensure we direct adequate resources to forest health and wildfire, we must address the continuing problem of escalating wildfire suppression costs. See updated 10 Year Strategy Task Matrix and the 2007 monitoring and accomplishments report for progress for the 10 Year Plan. Community Wildfire Protection Plan WGA partnered with, among others, the Society of American Foresters, The National Association of Counties, the National Association of State Foresters and the Communities Committee of the American Forest Congress to develop additional guidance for communities on developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The process of developing a CWPP can help a community clarify and refine its priorities for the protection of life, property, and critical infrastructure in the wildland urban interface.
10 Year Strategy Implementation 10 Year Strategy Task 1-2. 10 Year Strategy Task 2-1 The task group assigned to this 10 Year Strategy task is still formed and communicating via email. Federal agencies within the Wildland Fire Leadership Council are working toward changing processes and computer software functions to accomplish this task. States are able to access the NFPOR's database by State Forester request to the DOI Director of the Office of Wildland Fire.
10 Year Strategy Task 3A-2 The Partners In Fire Education (PIFE) task group is chartered under the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and has developed a Strategic Plan for implementation and completion of this task. See:
PIFE has developed a Transition Plan to increase coordination within the structure of the National Wildlifre Coordination Group. Please contact a PIFE member for further information. 10 Year Strategy Task 4-2 Compile examples of local zoning ordinances and state planning efforts that have successfully reduced risks associated with wildland fire. Use such information to develop model CWPPs and wildfire ordinances. Make all such information available to states, counties, municipalities, and the general public via the web and other media.
Planning Fire-Resilient Counties in the Wildland-Urban Interface: Guide to Wildfire Risk and Mitigation County officials and local planners play an essential role in leading community initiatives to prevent and mitigate the risks associated with fire in the Wildland-Urban Interface. The guide describes the tools and strategies a county or community can use to reduce the vulnerability of its residents to wildfire through developing and implementing effective local land use policies/codes and building and development codes. To access a web-version of the publication, click here.
See Regional Biomass Energy Program
Livestock Grazing This new video release by the Society for Range Management (~9 minutes) tells a story about the role of livestock grazing on western public rangelands. The video discusses livestock grazing and its contributions to a variety of important public interests and values, including:
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