SN-2018-03_NAFRI_Professional_Instruction_RFI.pdf

Request for Information U.S. Forest Service NAFRI PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT National Office

NAFRI PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION AND CURRICULUM

DEVELOPMENT

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The United States Forest Service (FS) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to obtain information on companies with the capabilities of providing instructors for the National Advanced Fire & Resource Institute. This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as an RFP or as a decision or obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparation of a response to this notice, in accordance with FAR 52.215-3.

NAFRI is a multi-agency wildland fire training center for fire leadership and aviation. The institute is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and is part of the National Fire Training Centers. January through May is the core training season when instructors are most needed.

2. SCOPE

The anticipated scope of work would entail Instruction through lectures, case studies and interaction between participants and faculty. Some curriculum planning and material updating is also expected. All class materials will be provided and remain the sole property of the U.S.

Government.

Individual instructors may teach units of varying lengths from a few hours up to 7 days. Instructors must possess;

• A degree in a field closely related to the course/unit topic as specified in individual course statements of work

• Have previous experience in the area of wildland firefighting

• Experience in one or more disciplines based on the exact nature of the class

See attached sample course Project Work Statement and curriculum for examples of education and experience requirements for instructors.

Individual Courses/Workshops, instructor requirements, curriculum and offering dates are subject to change. There may be additional courses offered, depending on program need. Courses and workshops that instructors may be solicited for include but are not limited to:

S-520- ADVANCED INCIDENT MANAGEMENT 7 Days- Usually First Week in December Annually

Using classroom lecture, dialogue, exercises and simulated incidents, students will develop their understanding and demonstrate the abilities to effectively function in a Command and General Staff (C&G) position of a Type 1 Incident Management Team and/or as an Agency Administrator hosting Complex Incidents. Students will discuss and practice the applicability of management principles to the incident management job, and the special considerations of incident management in differing geographic areas of the nation.

SN-2018-03

S520 incorporates experiential learning opportunities in the practice and application of critical concepts and responsibilities of Type 1 C&G Staff and Agency Administrators, coupled with active coaching, feedback and performance assessments.

Required Instructors: 1 Class size is approximately 66 students.

STRESS FIRST AID- 3 Days with Two Offerings Annually Usually In Mid-December and Late-February

Stress First Aid is a Military Model that has been adapted to the Law Enforcement and Structure Fire professions. In 2016 – 17 the curriculum was converted to suit a Wildland Fire Specific and Natural Resource Management audience to increase awareness in the workforce and build the skill set to more effectively deal with post-accident stress reactions and post-traumatic stress.

Class size is approximately 20 students.

RX510 – ADVANCED FIRE EFFECTS 5 Days, usually 2nd Week in January of Odd Numbered Years

RX-510 Advanced Fire Effects is a science-based course designed to support the integration of fire effects knowledge into land management programs. The course emphasizes the importance of considering fire effects in the design, implementation and monitoring of planned fire treatments over multiple spatial and temporal scales. In addition, many of the principles covered can be used to integrate fire effects in support of the wildfire decision-making process. This course recognizes that planning and implementing the use of fire in any capacity are independent activities, and provides opportunities for the burn boss and planner to work together.

The course is an intensive session that provides college-level lectures, case studies, discussion groups, and testing procedures throughout the week. Instructors include agency and university scientists, agency resource specialists, and fire practitioners. Students have many opportunities to interact with the faculty.

To successfully complete Rx510, students are required to complete the pre-course work and attend all sessions for the entire week.

RX-510 is a national level training course. Students should expect long days.

Required Instructors: 4-6 Class size is limited to 84 students.

M-580 FIRE IN ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT 5 Days, Usually the 4th Week in January of Even Numbered Years

Through lectures, case studies, a field trip, and interaction between students and faculty, the course will:

• Explore the role of fire and fire management in ecosystem management.

• Examine historical, social, political, legal, economic, and environment factors critical to fire management.

• Provide the students with concepts, technologies and methods to actively engage in ecosystem management across the landscape.

Required Instructors: 9 Class size is limited to 100 Students

LEARNING FROM UNINTENDED OUTCOMES: FLA WORKSHOP 5 days, Usually the 2nd Week In February and Mid-April Annually

The Facilitated Learning Analysis (FLA) and Coordinated Response Protocol (CRP) are group learning approaches to review a broad spectrum of unintended outcomes or close calls ranging from fatalities and escaped fires to vehicle accidents.

Through lectures, case studies, and interaction between participants and faculty, the course will:

• Illustrate concepts, technologies and methods to actively engage the FLA and CRP processes.

• Examine case studies that describe a paradigm shift from blame to learning in the wake of an accident.

• Demonstrate the use of storytelling to exploit accidents and other unintended outcomes as learning events.

• Underline the concept of sense-making to enable FLA and CRP team members to overcome hindsight bias.

• Move organizations towards a learning culture.

The workshop is limited to 56 participants

M582 - FIRE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT - LEADING COMPLEX PROGRAMS 5 days, Usually the 2nd Week of March Annually

The course is a comprehensive look at the Agency Administrator’s leadership role within the Fire Management Program, including the Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy. The complex fire situation is highlighted with the intent to provide a comprehensive understanding of the processes necessary to effectively manage the situation.

Included are the Agency Administrator’s briefing, WFDSS Wildland Fire Decision Support System, and other critical items.

Policy, authority, and responsibility will be clarified, discussed, and reinforced using case examples. Opportunities will be highlighted to provide additional tools for the Agency Administrator to more effectively manage and lead complex fire programs.

The participant will gain an insight into fire’s role in wildland management. Internal and external relations and interagency cooperation opportunities are discussed. Emphasis is placed on an overall understanding of fire management and the Agency Administrator’s role in it.

Class size limited to 100 students

Place of Performance Training is most often conducted in Tucson Arizona at the NAFRI training facility, but some sessions may occur in other states nationwide. All training outside of Tucson will have government provided training facilities.

Travel Travel will be based on Time and Materials.

3. SOURCES SOUGHT RESPONSES

FS seeks contractors with experience and expertise in providing temporary professional instructor and curriculum development services.

Vendors that meet the requirements above shall submit a sources sought response that identifies the following:

1. Company Name, DUNS, Website URL and Point-of-Contact. Identify company size standard (Large, Small, HubZone, 8(a), Veteran Owned etc.) based on NAICS 611430.

2. Brief explanation of ability to provide instructors who meet the qualification criteria listed in section 2.

3. Contracting vehicle names and numbers (such as GSA Schedule contracts) that would be eligible for use given the anticipated scope of work.

4. Brief descriptions of relevant work completed in the last five years that aligns with the anticipated scope of work. Please include the email address and phone number of the customer.

5. Any recommendations, exceptions, etc. on the requirements listed in Section 2, or any other pertinent information relating to this RFI that will assist the government in developing specifications for a future solicitation.

6. Identify which courses you would be interested in from the list provided in this RFI.

7. Provide price information to include:

a. What is your company’s preferred method of payment (Instructor hourly rates, rates based on number of students or fixed prices per course)?

Contracting Officer POC: Christopher Cox christophercox@fs.fed.us mailto:christophercox@fs.fed.us

Attachment 1: Example Project Work Statement

M580 FIRE IN ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

REQUEST FOR INSTRUCTORS

PROJECT WORK STATEMENT

***Example Only for informational purposes

1. COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Through lectures, case studies, a field trip, and interaction between students and faculty, the course will:

• Explore the role of fire and fire management in ecosystem management.

• Examine historical, social, political, legal, economic, and environment factors critical to fire management.

• Provide the students with concepts, technologies and methods to actively engage in ecosystem management across the landscape.

• Convey the significant role of fire management across a diversity of ecosystems.

• Demonstrate the complexity and benefits of integrating fire and landscape management with social, political, legal, economic and environmental factors.

• Provide students with strategies, concepts, reference resources, and models to facilitate ecosystem management decisions.

• Reinforce fundamental ecological concepts as they relate to fire on the landscape.

Course Size is limited to 100 Students

Contractor Owned Or Government Owned Material:

All units are government owned materials. Materials are attached for review.

Period Of Performance:

January 22, 2018 – January 26, 2018

Class Location:

National Advanced Fire & Resource Institute 3265 East Universal Way

Tucson, Arizona 85756

Attachment 1: Example Project Work Statement

General Instructor Requirements:

• Daily availability is based on an 8 hour day.

• Availability rate must include all fixed and variable costs.

• Costs to include but not limited to:

• Preparation fees

• Instruction fees

• Instructor/Student interaction

• Peer Group Facilitator

• A maximum of 2 consecutive days (16 hours) of availability per instructor.

o Contractor will instruct the hours listed under Instructor Requirements.

o In addition to instructing, during availability periods, contractor will be expected to interact with the students and instructors. Interaction may include coaching, mentoring, collaborating, facilitating discussions and answering questions on specific research topics.

Instructor Requirement Category Definitions:

• Category A: A Degree in the category listed in each unit.

• Category B: Experience in the topic listed in each unit.

****See Evaluation of Offerors for how bids will be rated.

2. UNIT OBJECTIVES AND ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTOR REQUIREMENTS:

UNIT I OBJECTIVES - Policy and History Overview (2 Instructors)

• Examine the role of Fire in human History

• Illustrate current climate trends and implications on current fire management practices

• Discuss current Federal wildland fire policy and the role it plays in fire and ecosystem management

• Examine other public policy issues and the impacts they have on managing fire in ecosystems

Attachment 1: Example Project Work Statement

Instructor 1 Requirements for American Fire History:

• Category A - American Civilizations or Fire History degree

• Days Required: 2

• 16 Hours of availability, to include 2 hours of instruction on the following topic:

Fire History of the world

Instructor 2 Requirements for Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy:

• Category B

• Days Required: 2

• 16 Hours of availability to include 1 hours of instruction on the following topics:

Federal wildland fire policy and planning.

UNIT II OBJECTIVES - Role of Fire in Ecosystems (3 Instructors)

• Apply Landscape ecology principles as they relate to fire management

• Describe how fire can be used to benefit ecosystem resources including cultural resources

• Identify ecosystem responses

• Describe Fire Regimes and changes that may occur with introduced species

• Describe potential post fire responses in aquatic ecosystems and watersheds and impacts to those resources

Instructor 1 Requirements Fire and Climate:

• Category A – Watershed or Dendrochronology degree

• Days Required: 2

• 16 Hours of availability to include 1 hours of instruction on the following topic:

Climate and fire climatology Tree ring data related to fire and climate

Instructor 2 Requirements for Post-Fire Ecological Response and Tipping Points:

• Category A - Ecology or Evolutionary Biology degree

• Days Required: 2

• 16 Hours of availability to include 1 hours of instruction on the following topic:

Fire Ecology, restoration ecology and land management impacts on ecosystems.

Attachment 1: Example Project Work Statement

Instructor 3 Requirements for Invasive Plants and Fire, Risks and Actions:

• Category B

• Days Required: 2

• 16 Hours of availability to include 1 hours of instruction on the following topic:

Fire and invasive plants and habitat restoration on federal lands

UNIT III OBJECTIVES - Applied Ecology and Ecosystem Diversity (3 Instructors)

• Compare and contrast the role of fire in a variety of North American Ecosystems

• Describe changes in historical fire regimes and the impacts they have on ecosystems

• Describe how fire along with other disturbances effects habitat restoration efforts

• Demonstrate how fire plays a critical role in ecosystem integrity and diversity

Instructor 1 Requirements for Fire Ecology of Sagebrush Steppe:

• Category A - Range Science degree

• Days Required: 2

• 16 Hours of availability to include 1 hours of instruction on the following topic:

• Prescribed and Wild Fire Ecology of Sagebrush Steppe

Instructor 2 Requirements for Fire in Grasslands, Scrublands, and Riparian Zones: Homogenization and Fragmentation:

• Category A - Range Science degree

• Days Required: 2

• 16 Hours of availability to include 1 hours of instruction on the following Rangeland Management and Wildfire Wildfire in Grasslands, Scrublands, riparian zones and Homogenization and Fragmentation

Instructor 3 Requirements for Fire Frequency: The Key to Prairie, Shrubland, and Forest Restoration

• Category A - Rangeland Ecology degree

• Days Required: 2

• 16 Hours of availability to include 1 hours of instruction on the following topic:

Ecosystems, Rangeland Management and Wildfire.

Fire in Prairie, Shrubland and Forest .

Attachment 1: Example Project Work Statement

UNIT V OBJECTIVES – Leadership (1 Instructor)

• Describe the importance of leadership in decision making

• Describe the importance of leadership in future collaboration and implementation of the Cohesive Strategy

• Demonstrate how leadership plays an important role in making decisions

Instructor 1 Requirements for Education and Fire Leadership:

• Category A – Forestry or Fire Ecology degree

• Days Required: 2

• 16 Hours of availability to include 1 hours of instruction on the following topic:

Fire Ecology Education for fire professionals

3. EVALUATION OF OFFERS

Offers will be evaluated to determine the best value to the government based on evaluation factors to be determined at the time of solicitation.

National Advanced Fire & Resource Institute

FIRE IN ECOSYSTEM

MANAGEMENT

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NAFRI PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION AND CURRICULUM DEBELOPMENT

Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

U.S. Forest Service National OfficeSN-2018-03

NATIONAL ADVANCED FIRE & RESOURCE INSTITUTE

M-580 FIRE IN ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

Monday January 22, 2018

0800 – 0810 - NAFRI Welcome

0810 – 0830 - Course Introduction

0830 – 0915 - Participant Introductions

UNIT I – POLICY AND HISTORY OVERVIEW

0915 – 1130 - American Fire History

1130 – 1245 - GROUP LUNCH – (Professional Networking)

1245 – 1345 - Ecosystem Services

1345 – 1400 - BREAK

1400 – 1500 - Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy

1500 – 1510 - BREAK

1510 – 1600 - Fire Risk Assessment

UNIT II – ROLE OF FIRE IN ECOSYSTEMS

1600 - 1650 - Fire and Climate

1650 – 1700 - Closeout

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

U.S. Forest Service National OfficeSN-2018-03 jlsmith Highlight jlsmith Highlight jlsmith Highlight

Tuesday January 23, 2018

0800 - 0905 Landscape Ecology

0905 – 0915 - BREAK

0915 – 1000 - Post-Fire Ecological Response and Tipping Points

1000 – 1100 - Post-Fire Management Response/SWFSC JFSP

1100 – 1110 - Break

1110 - 1210 - Invasive Plants and Fire: Risks and Actions

1210 - 1310 - LUNCH

1310 - 1410 - Cultural Resources

1410 - 1420 - BREAK

UNIT III – APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY

1420 - 1520 - Fire Ecology and Management in the Southeast US

1520 – 1530 - BREAK

1530 – 1630 - Fire Ecology of Sagebrush Steppe

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

U.S. Forest Service National OfficeSN-2018-03 jlsmith Highlight jlsmith Highlight

Wednesday January 24, 2018

0800 – 0950 - Fire in Grasslands, Scrublands, and Riparian Zones: Homogenization and Fragmentation Fire Frequency: The Key to Prairie, Shrubland, and Forest Restoration

0950 – 1005 - Field Trip Introduction

1005 – 1700 - Field Trip

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

U.S. Forest Service National OfficeSN-2018-03

Thursday January 25, 2018

0800 – 0805 - UNIT IV – HUMAN DIMENSIONS

0805 – 0905 - Fire Mangement Decision Making and Risk

0905 – 0915 - BREAK

0915 – 1000 - Case Study: Making the Tough But Right Decisions

1000 – 1010 - BREAK

1010 – 1100 - Risk Management and Liability

1100 - 1110 - BREAK

1110 - 1200 - Public Information/Social Media Technology

1200 – 1300 - LUNCH

1300 – 1340 - Applied Smoke/Air Quality Management

1340 – 1350 - World Café Introduction

1350 – 1400 - Break

1400 – 1700 - World Cafe

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

Friday January 26, 2018

0800 – 0805 - UNIT V – LEADERSHIP

0805 – 0900 - Line Officer Perspective

0900 – 0910 - BREAK

0910 – 1000 - Education and Fire Leadership

1000 – 1010 - BREAK

1010 – 1200 - Integrating Ecological and Human Dimensions in Banff National Park

1200 – 1210 - Closeout

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

U.S. Forest Service National OfficeSN-2018-03

NATIONAL ADVANCED FIRE AND RESOURCE INSTITUTE

INSTRUCTOR:

LESSON:

UNIT:

COURSE:

American Fire History

I – Policy and History Overview

M580 Fire in Ecosystem Management

Part 1:

The question: the 1880 census includes a map of forest fires, which differs significantly from that of today. How can we explain the transformation?

A fire-history triangle: three narratives

1. A fire narrative – the story American shares with everywhere else on Earth

2. A public land narrative – the story America shares with cognate countries that have similar fire concerns

3. A national narrative – the unique way contributing causes have come together in the U.S.

§ FIRE NARRATIVE

1. Natural fire

2. Anthropogenic fire – the ways people alter natural fire regimes through control over ignition and fuel

• Aboriginal fire examples from Australia and U.S.

• Agricultural fire examples from Europe and Latin America

• Agricultural fire as feature of colonizing – examples of fire rearranged (New England), fire removed (Great Plains), and fire added (Lake States). End with contemporary issues.

3. Industrial fire – how it alters fire regimes

• Examples pyric transition, Africa and Europe, North and South

Korea

4. Summary of changing fire patterns

§ PUBLIC LAND NARRATIVE

India and America compared American search for administrative order to its public domain

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

U.S. Forest Service National OfficeSN-2018-03

Triumph of forestry as a global corps of fire engineers Wildfires now predominantly on public lands

Part 2:

§ AMERICAN NARRATIVE

Impact of 1910 fires o Big Blowup o Light-burning controversy o Political fights; and institutionalizing the fire in the

Forest Service and through the Weeks Act

The first 50 years: the U.S. Forest Service becomes a hegemon o Scroll through early American firefighting technologies o Impact of New Deal and CCC o The debate over the 10 AM policy o World War II o Cold war on fire

The second 50 years: the fire revolution

• Causes and locales (Florida, California) – institutional disaggregation and reassembly, a civil society for fire, bonding of fire with land management

1. Revolution: 1962-1979 Tall Timbers conferences, Leopold Report, Nature Conservancy, and Wilderness Act 1968 – National Park reforms policy 1978 – U.S. Forest Service reforms policy

2. Lost Decade: 1980s Polarization and politicization WUI identified: first initiative (1986) Yellowstone fires (1988) – the Big Blowout

3. Night Shift: 1989-1992 Stabilization and gradual realignment Maclean, Young Men and Fire (1992)

4. Revolution 2.0: 1993-2000 Southern California fire siege:1993 Catalytic year: 1994 Federal wildland fire policy: 1995

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

Internal reorganizations: 1998 Breakdowns: 2000 fire season

5. National fire plan: 2000

6. Era of metafire, megafire, and megabucks: 2001-2007

7. Reconstitution: 2009-2013 Appropriate management response FLAME Act National Cohesive Strategy

Contemporary fire scene

1. Problem fires, problem politics

2. Fire issues Relation to research Politics: integrate, break up, or bailouts without end Imagining fire: pyrogeographies, narratives, selves and fire

3. Evolving strategies Resistance

Restoration Resilience

Further reading

On fire history generally

Stephen J. Pyne, Fire: A Brief History (University of Washington Press, 2001) Fire: Nature and Culture (Reaktion Books, 2012) Andrew Scott, et al. Fire on Earth: An Introduction (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013)

On U.S. fire history

Stephen J. Pyne, Between Two Fires: A Fire History of Contemporary America (2015)

,Fire in America: A Cultural History of Wildland and Rural Fire (University of Washington Press, 1995; reprint)

Tending Fire. Coping with America’s Wildland Fire (Island Press, 2004)

To the Last Smoke. Vol. 1 Florida (spring, 2016); Vol. 2 California (spring, 2016); Vol. 3 Northern Rockies (fall, 2016); Vol. 4 Southwest (fall 2016); Vol. 5 Great Plains (fall 2017); Vol. 6 Interior West [Colorado, Utah, Nevada] (fall 2017); Vol. 7 Slopovers [Oak woodlands, Pacific Northwest, Lake States] (forthcoming); Vol. 8 Northeast (forthcoming); Vol. 9 Alaska (in discussion); Vol. 10 Here and There [essays; under review].

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

Stephen F. Arno and Steven Allison-Bunnell, Flames in Our Forest. Disaster or Renewal?

(Island Press, 2002)

David Carle, Burning Questions. America’s Fight with Nature’s Fire (Praeger, 2002) John N. Maclean, Fire on the Mountain. The True Story of the South Canyon Fire (William Morrow and Co., 1999)

Norman Maclean, Young Men and Fire (University of Chicago Press, 1992)

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

INSTRUCTOR:

LESSON:

UNIT:

Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy

I – Policy and History Overview

COURSE: M-580 Fire in Ecosystem Management

OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this lesson, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the recent history and status of federal wildland fire management policy.

2. Know the guidelines for consistent implementation of federal wildland fire management policy.

3. Identify valuable source documents for current terminology and additional guidance for communication.

4. Recognize the current and important challenges of implementing policy given the broad range of situations encountered by federal fire managers.

5. Utilize knowledge gained from this session to improve how they implement wildland fire policy on a day-to-day basis.

NARRATIVE:

I. INTRODUCTION

Federal wildland fire policies provide a foundation to our management actions in safety, response to wildfire, ecosystem sustainability, and achieving the statutory requirements of the land management agencies, as well as the enabling legislation for specific land management units. We will integrate fire, as a critical natural process, into land and resource management plans and activities on a landscape scale and across agency boundaries.

This session will provide an overview of the recent evolution of federal fire policy, identify a set of challenges, and provide some suggestions that may inspire you to examine further. A myriad of laws, regulations, and policies that affect our actions on the ground, such as laws passed by congress and signed by the president, executive orders, secretarial orders, and reports prepared as part of appropriations laws, such as the Cohesive Strategy. Our time today will focus on federal fire policy and the challenges

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

U.S. Forest Service National OfficeSN-2018-03 that we face with implementation of the full range of fire management activities to achieve ecosystem sustainability.

II. FEDERAL WILDLAND FIRE POLICY

A. Recent Federal Fire Policy Evolution

i. 1989 (Final Report on Fire Management Policy)

ii. 1995 (Federal Wildland Fire Management; Policy and Program Review)

iii. 2001 (Review and Update of the 1995 Federal Wildland Fire

Management Policy B. Interagency Strategy for Implementation of Federal Wildland Fire Management

Policy (2003)

i. Intended as “Operational Clarification for Consistent Implementation”

ii. Included: “Only one management objective will be applied to a wildland fire. Wildland fires will either be managed for resource benefits or suppressed. A wildland fire cannot be managed for both objectives concurrently.”

C. This 2003 document was the target for modifying, which was precipitated by internal discussion and a 2006 OIG (FS) report noting that the:

"…interagency policy guidance established in 2003 may have unnecessarily narrowed the interpretation of the Federal Wildland Fire Policy and restricted the application of a full spectrum of suppression and management strategies commensurate with risk, public and firefighter safety, values to be protected and land-management objectives".

D. Which lead to the Guidance for Implementation of Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy (2009)

i. Provided nine (9) Guidelines for Consistent Implementation

ii. Reaffirmed the nine (9) “Guiding Principles” of the Review and Update of the 1995 Fed Fire Policy (2001)

iii. Validated the seventeen (17) “Policy Elements” (from 2001).

iv. All three of the above appear in Chapter 1 of the 2017 Red Book

E. 2009 Guidance: For “consistent implementation”, the following guidelines should be used:

i. Use common standards to facilitate effective collaboration.

ii. Clarify the jurisdictional inter-relationships and define the roles and responsibilities.

iii. Coordinate response, regardless of the jurisdiction at the ignition source.

iv. Fire management planning on a landscape scale.

v. Wildland fire: a general term describing any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland

1. Wildfire: unplanned ignition (and escaped Prescribed Fire)

2. Prescribed Fires: planned ignition

vi. Wildland fire may be concurrently managed for one or more objectives and objectives can change.

vii. Wildland fire response is based on Land/ Resource Management Plan and/or the Fire Management Plan objectives.

viii. Initial action on human-caused wildfire will be to suppress the fire.

ix. Use a decision support process to guide and document wildfire management decisions.

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

F. Guiding Principles

i. Firefighter and public safety is the first priority in every fire management activity.

ii. The role of wildland fire as an essential ecological process and natural agent of change will be incorporated into the planning process.

iii. Fire Management Plans, programs, and activities support land and resource management plans and their implementation.

iv. Sound risk management is a foundation for all fire management activities.

v. Fire management programs and activities are economically viable, based on values to be protected, costs, and land and resource management objectives.

vi. Fire Management Plans¹ are based on the best available science.

vii. Fire Management Plans¹ incorporate public health and environmental quality considerations.

viii. Federal, state, tribal, and local interagency coordination and cooperation are essential.

ix. Standardization of policies and procedures among federal agencies is an ongoing objective.

¹Fire Management Plans is a generic term referring to unit level strategic plans for wildland fire and known by the names of Land, Resource and Fire Management Plans

G. Importantly, the 2009 Guidance for Implementation:

i. Effectively eliminated the distinction between wildland fire use and wildfires (that had been created by the 2003 Strategy for Implementation.)

ii. Clarified that there are two types of wildland fire: wildfire (unplanned ignition) and prescribed fire (planned ignition)

iii. Provided updated definition for wildfire

iv. Clarified the phrase: “use of wildland fire”

v. Removed the term Appropriate Management Response (from implementation guidance) H. Further clarification on terminology and communication provided by the National

Wildfire Coordinating Group

i. The Guidance included a brief Glossary, but additional “terminology” and communication issues were addressed by the NWCG in 2010, who provided memoranda that have been adopted by the federal agencies

1. NWCG #024-2010 (“Terminology Updates…”)

2. NWCG #030-2010 (“Additional Guidance for Communication…”)

ii. These remain key reference documents for terminology and communication, both internal and external

I. In addition, agency systems and procedures required updating

i. Agency policies updated to be aligned with 2009 Guidance for

Implementation

ii. Decision support (WFDSS) adapting and evolving

iii. Dispatch, coordination, and intelligence community adapting and evolving

J. In the big picture, it is important to maintain Policy Situational Awareness

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

i. Agency policies

1. Forest Service (FSM 5100 series)

2. 620 Departmental Manual (DOI)

a. Bureau-specific policy (BLM, FWS, NPS, BIA)

ii. Red Book (2017 will be all five federal agencies)

1. Standards for Operations;

2. Since it is updated annually, generally considered authoritative over previously issued operational direction

3. “The Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations, states, references, or supplements policy and provides program direction for BLM, BIA, USFWS, NPS, and US Forest Service.”

(cover memo)

4. Annual (FS) Chief’s Letter of Intent, Secretary of Interior Letter of Intent, and DOI Bureau Letter(s) of Intent

a. FS Decision Framework

K. Secretarial Order Number 3336, Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management, and Restoration

i. The Final Report includes a number of Action Items that will ensure compliance with SO 3336. Secretarial Order issued to develop and implement the “Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy”, which recommends investments and action items to achieve the goals of strengthening rangeland fire prevention, suppression, and post-fire rehabilitation and restoration. The Order emphasizes that rangeland fire management is a critical priority for protecting, conserving, and restoring the health of the sage-steppe ecosystem and, in particular, GRSG habitat, while maintaining safe and efficient operations. The Order also emphasizes that the allocation of wildland fire management resources and assets before, during, and after wildland fire incidents will reflect this priority. The Order established a Rangeland Fire Task Force and directed it to develop a science-based strategy to reduce the threat of large-scale rangeland fire to the sage-steppe ecosystem through effective rangeland management (including the appropriate use of livestock), fire prevention, fire suppression, and post-fire restoration efforts at a landscape scale.

L. National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy

i. Vision: “To safely and effectively extinguish fire, when needed; use fire where allowable; manage our natural resources; and as a Nation, live with wildland fire.”

ii. Although not a “policy” per se, it was a required “strategy framework” as called out in the FY2010 appropriations law. It builds upon existing federal fire policy. The CS is intergovernmental framework, in which all entities have a stake in the outcome. As Tom Harbor points out, this is a commitment to the framework for our shared responsibilities, with the three goals.

1. "The outcome of the Cohesive Strategy effort is more than a set of documents. It is a commitment to the doctrine that, as stakeholders, we all share responsibilities for managing our lands; protecting our nation's natural, tribal, and cultural

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum resources and making our communities safe and resilient for future generations.” Tom Harbour US Forest Service, Ret.

iii. It is important and easy to remember the three goals (paraphrased here):

1. Response is effective and coordinated

2. Communities are adapted

3. Landscapes are resilient

M. Do we have the policy we need?

i. That is a matter of opinion, but many have suggested that:

1. Policy is sound, and allows us to do what we need, but does not require it;

2. Intent and stakeholder (public) support are essential for implementing our policy options.

N. Challenges

i. Internal vocabulary; differences between systems and venues

1. Intelligence Community (ICS-209)

a. Strategies

b. Monitor, Confine, Point/Zone Protection, and Full

Suppression

c. “…the management strategy that best represents the situation for the operational reporting period.”

d. Alaska Fire Service (critical, full, modified, limited protection options; all considered suppression responses)

2. Decision Support (WFDSS)

a. Strategy Slider (Optional)

i. “… to designate the Agency Administrator's intent regarding the Strategy (monitor up to full suppression) for the incident.” [Course of Action Tab]

b. Benefits Slider (Optional)

i. “…to show the amount of benefit expected from a fire and an associated comment box to document and describe the natural resource, intrinsic, and/or other benefits of the fire.” [Assessment Tab]

3. Application purpose and data “silos”

a. Glossary and definitions; under discussion

b. System integration; a work in progress (IRWIN)

ii. The use of WFDSS presents unintended issues, especially for units with infrequent large fire activity.

iii. Unit planning documents (and terminology within) may be out of date

1. PNF, WFURB, or Fire Use.

2. Or lack the specificity needed for strategic objectives and management requirements in WFDSS

iv. Improving stakeholder support (social science)

v. External communication

vi. Help the ourselves and the media from delivering mixed messages; did the fire really “destroy over 10,000 acres”?

vii. Intent and will; risk avoidance

1. Career defining event

2. Consequences of failure

3. Possible leadership disincentives for managing wildfire

O. Takeaways

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i. Minor imperfections notwithstanding, we have a strong fire policy; the Guiding Principles are a solid anchor point and are not likely to change

ii. Risk management will always be our foundation

iii. Unit planning and preparation, anchored to the fundamentals of agency fire policy, cannot be overemphasized.

iv. Develop forward-thinking strategic objectives to enable the use of wildland fire (both prescribed fire and wildfire).

v. Be progressive within the bounds of agency wildland fire policies, leader’s intent, and unit planning documents (NEPA, etc.)

1. Wildfires with no documented resource objectives can result in some “benefits”, as described in the WFDSS Assessment Tab

vi. We live in an imperfect world; avoid being bogged down by subtle inconsistencies within our systems of record; each has its specific needs. Improvements are being made. Lead upward and set the example.

1. Internal and External Communication

vii. Avoid “labeling” wildfires (e.g. fire use fire); instead describe them…in terms of objectives and strategies. For example:

1. The Cottonwood Fire is confined south of the Bitterroot Range and east of State Highway 40 to protect the Cedar River Ranch and surrounding community.

2. The Rock Creek Fire is being managed to protect Forest Service recreational values by confining the fire and limiting fire intensities, as well as to provide benefits by improving the productivity of elk forage north of High Meadow Reservoir. Fire managers are using a combination of point protection and confine strategies.

3. The strategy on the Trout Creek Fire is to confine the fire north of the Crazy River and within refuge boundary; the objectives are to provide for firefighter, responder and public safety, protect sage grouse habitat in the valley, and maintain ecological processes in the mixed-conifer forest.

viii. Study and utilize communication tools. Lead by example.

ix. Keep the NWCG (communication) memoranda (and/or other agency or locally developed tools) handy and use them to help craft messaging to the public and with cooperators about wildfire activities.

1. NWCG #024-2010 (“Terminology Updates…”)

2. NWCG #030-2010 (“Additional Guidance for Communication…”)

x. NWCG Memoranda include:

1. “For both our internal and external audiences, we need to keep our terminology simple and continue to focus on telling our story…”

2. “The simplest way to approach our story…is to describe our actions by telling…

a. What we are doing operationally,

b. Why we are taking these actions, and

c. How these actions affect firefighters, the public and the social, ecological, and economic communities.”

3. “Fires are no longer pigeon-holed into types such as “suppression fires” or “resource benefit fires.””

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4. “‘Use of wildland fire’ is an acceptable term meaning the management of wildfire or prescribed fire to meet objectives in land and resource management plans. Discuss where fire will be used to protect, maintain, and enhance resources consistent with management objectives.”

xi. The policy part is complete; it is not perfect, but we can work with it.

Improvements to our systems are a work in progress; we are doing better at communicating the issues…”telling our story”.

xii. Do not wait until you experience a wildfire of significance to take action.

Have your plan in place, pre-populate WFDSS, have pick lists for Incident Objectives, build a transfer of command package with draft Delegations of Authority.

xiii. Build relationships. Federal land actions have implied effects on adjoining non-federal lands.

xiv. Know fire policy, exercise patience, ask for help, and stay informed of Leader’s Intent at all levels, especially by putting Life First and ensure that “Everyone goes home safely every day”.

xv. Remember “NATURE’S RULE” – “No Fire” is not an option – we can use policy and science based planning to execute our total program of work at the local, state/regional, and national levels within our capacities and within the limits that nature provides (unplanned ignition location and condition of fuel)

xvi. Burnable vegetation – it is not a matter of “IF” it will burn it is a matter of

“WHEN”.

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

INSTRUCTOR:

LESSON:

UNIT:

COURSE:

Fire and Climate

I - Policy and History Overview

M580 Fire in Ecosystem Management

OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this lesson, participants will be able to:

1. Identify sources of fire history for understanding range and variability in past and current fire regimes.

2. Increase awareness of both weather and climate on fire risks, including ocean-atmosphere patterns, such as ENSO, on wildfire activity.

3. Recognize the recent trends of warming temperatures and changing seasons on fire activity.

4. Access information on long-range climate forecasts from the internet.

NARRATIVE:

I. MAIN POINTS REGARDING FIRE AND CLIMATE:

a. Wet/Dry oscillations at inter-annual to decadal time scales have driven regional to continental scale fire patterns for centuries.

b. Warming temperatures and earlier springs are associated with increasing numbers of large forest fires in the Western US.

c. Long range fire hazard forecasting tools are now available online for strategic planning.

d. Unusual fire events and behaviors related to drought and wins are occurring in some places now, requiring more situational awareness at multiple temporal scales:

annual, seasonal, daily, hourly, etc.

II. SOURCES OF PUBLISHED INFORMATION:

a. Synthesis of Knowledge: Fire History and Climate Change, 2009.

b. Fire and Climate Synthesis Project, 2009.

c. International Mulitproxy Paleofire Database http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/impd/paleofire.html

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U.S. Forest Service National OfficeSN-2018-03

III. FIRE HISTORY EVIDENCE

a. Surface fires often kill the cambium along one side of the trees, creating an open wound with resin seeping at the edges. Subsequent low intensity fires re-scar along the same edge, creating a series of overlapping scars.

b. Charcoal in lake and other sediments have been useful for understanding long term fire and vegetation changes over centuries and millennia.

c. In Giant Sequoias for example, fire history evidence extends back 1500 to 3000 years.

d. In Big Cone Douglas Fir for example, fire scars and tree rings have been used to reconstruct interior chaparral fire histories.

e. Fire Scar chronology network in southeastern North America currently stores data for 120 sites and provides regional fire history.

IV. CLIMATE AND FIRE HISTORY

a. Chronologies developed from tree ring width data are calibrated with instrumental-based records of Palmer Drought Severity Index and interpolated across an evenly spaced grid network to show regional large and small fire years linked to wet and dry conditions.

b. Fire Climatology studies have been developed to relate drought severity to acres burned across the western US.

c. Patterns emerged from correlated data that show previous year’s spring Drought index positively correlated with acres burned.

d. circulation features, such as the northern jet streams, are shifted and or amplified during ENSO, Other ocean-atmosphere oscillations have different seasonal to decadal effects on climate in different regions.

e. The Fire scar network now includes more than 800 tree-ring based fire chronologies.

f. The fire scar network, combined with tree-ring width based Palmer Drought Severity reconstructions show the classic NW/SW “Dipole” pattern very distinctly.

V. CLIMATE FORECASTS, WHO MAKES THEM?

a. Drought outlook is a tool to look at seasonal drought patterns.

b. Long-lead climate outlooks provided by NOAA.

c. National Interagency Coordination Center Predictive Services provides seasonal wildland fire potential outlooks.

d. CPC develops temperature and precipitation prediction tools.

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VI. WARMING CLIMATES AND FIRE

a. The warmest years in the instrumental record have occurred in the past decade and are not accounted for by natural events alone.

b. Jun-Jul-Aug temperatures have been increasing over time.

c. Frequency of forest wildfires >200ha are strongly associated with spring and summer temperatures.

d. Strong relationship between previous year precipitation and annual wildfire area.

e. Temperature has been shown to be a strong driver of regional drought stress and tree mortality in the southwest. A Forest Drought Stress Index (FDSI) has been developed based on tree ring width chronologies calibrated with warm season vapor pressure deficit and cool season precipitation.

VII. CLIMATE CHANGE PREDICTIONS

a. Based on downscaled global circulation model outputs, by 2050 average Forest Drought Stress Indices in the Southwest will be as low or lower than during the worst droughts of the past millennia.

b. Las Conchas example.

c. Jet stream studies provide links to extreme weather events.

d. July 2010 example, heat wave in Europe, wildfires in Moscow, cold wave and rains over Pakistan and massive floods.

e. Relationship of jet streams to forest wildfires. Understanding the jet stream patterns may provide information fire spread and behavior.

f. Las Conchas fire example showing spiral cloud patterns.

g. Wallow fire example showing expansion of more than 40,000 acres on at least 4 burning periods.

h. Rotating vertical plumes lessons learned from Indian Fire Entrapment, Los Padres

NF, 2008.

VIII. THE ROLE OF FUEL TREATMENTS

a. Fuel treatments can be used to save homes as demonstrated in the Wallow Fire in 2011.

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REFERENCES:

Bostwick, Pam; Menakis, Jim; Sexton, Tim. 2011. How fuel treatments saved homes from the 2011 Wallow fire. 14pp.

Cooke, ER, CA Woodhouse, CM Eakin, DM Meko, DW Stahle. 2004. Science 306: 1015-1018.

Diaz, HF, TW Swetnam, 2013. THE WILDFIRES OF 1910 Climatology of an Extreme Early Twentieth-Century Event and Comparison with More Recent Extremes. American Meterological Society September 2013: 1361-1370.

Faulk, DA, EK Heyerdahl, PM Brown, TW Swetnam, EK Sutherland, Z Gedalof, L Yocom and TJ Brown. 2010. Fire and climate variation in western North America from fire-scar and tree ring networks. PAGES news 18: 70-72.

Lombardo, KJ. TW Swetnam, CH Baisan, MI Borchert. 2009. Using bigcone Douglas-fir fire scars and tree rings to reconstruct interior chapparal fire history. Fire Ecology 5: 32-52

Meehl, GA, WM Washington, CM Ammann, JM Arblaster, TML Wigley, and C Tebaldi.

Combinations of Natural and Anthropogenic Forcings in Twentieth-Century Climate. J.

Climate, 17, 3721–3727.

Schaefer, V.J. 1957. The relationship of jet streams to forest fires. Journal of Forestry.

55(6):419-425

Sommers, WT, SG. Coloff, SG. Conard. 2011. Synthesis of Knowledge: Fire History and Climate Change. Report submitted to the Joint Fire Science Project 09-2-01-09. 215 pages + 6 appendices.

Swetnam, TW. 1993. Fire and Climate Change in giant sequoia groves. Science 262: 885-889.

Swetnam, T.W., and C.H. Baisan. 2003. Tree-ring reconstructions of fire and climate history in the Sierra Nevada and southwestern United States. Pages 158-195 in: T.T. Veblen, W. Baker, G. Montenegro, and T.W. Swetnam, editors. Fire and climatic change in temperate ecosystems of the western Americas. Ecological Studies Volume 160. Springer, New York, New York, USA.

Swetnam, T.W, and P.M. Brown. 2010. Climatic inferences from dendroecological reconstructions. In M.K. Hughes, H.F. Diaz, and T.W. Swetnam (editors); Dendroclimatology:

Progress and Prospects. Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research, Springer Verlag.

Westerling, AL, A Gershunov, DR Cayan, and TP Barnett. 2002. Long lead statistical forecasts of area burned in western US wildfires by ecosystem province. International Journal of Wildland Fire 11: 257-266.

Westerling, AL, HG Hildago, DR Cayan, and TW Swetnam. 2006. Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity. Science 313: 940-943.

Williams AP, Allen CD, Macalady AK, Woodhouse C, Meko D, Allen CD, Swetnam TW, Cook E, Griffin D, Rauscher S, Seager R, Dean J, Grissino-Mayer H, Gangodagamage C, Cai M, McDowell N. 2012. Temperature as a potent driver of regional forest-drought stress and tree mortality. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1693

Williams AP, Allen CD, Millar C, Swetnam T, Michaelsen J, Still CJ, Leavitt SW. 2012.Forest responses to increasing aridity and warmth in southwestern North America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 107(50):21289-21294.

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Attachment 2: Example Curriculum

INSTRUCTOR:

LESSON:

UNIT:

COURSE:

Post-fire Ecological Response, Resilience, and Tipping Points

II - Role of Fire in Ecosystems

M580 Fire in Ecosystem Management

OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this lesson, participants will be able to:

1. Review and critique the underlying concept of ecological disturbance.

2. Unpack the concepts of ecological resilience and tipping points, and see how they relate to disturbance and climate.

3. Evaluate changing disturbance regimes, and whether resilience responses will be affected.

4. Recognize the need to apply resilience concepts to fire management.

NARRATIVE AND KEY CONCEPTS:

1. “Disturbance”

a. Classically, any process that abruptly results in significant mortality or redistribution of biomass

i. Fire, insect outbreaks, windstorms, floods, earthquakes, others.

b. These are all naturally-occurring processes.

c. Therefore, “disturbance” is part of…