USDA Forest Service R&D
Research Linkages to U.S. Joint Fire Services
Colin C. Hardy
– Program Manager
Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science
Rocky Mountain Research Station
USDA Forest Service R&D
Elizabeth Reinhardt
–
National Program Lead for Fire Research
Forest Management Science
USDA Forest Service R&D
USDA Forestry Research Advisory Council
June 6-7, 2012
1
USDA Forest Service R&D
Research Linkages to U.S. Joint Fire Services
• Research — from basic to applied
• Stakeholders & customers — “joint fire services”
• USFS Fire and Fuels R&D Strategic Plan
• The Cohesive Strategy
• USFS R&D Capacity, strengths, weaknesses
2
Fire Management Actions*
* Fire as a natural process is both a stressor and a mitigator
3
Experiments
Models
R=
I Rξ (1 + φ w + φ s )
ρ bε Qig
Fire Modeling Systems
Fire Management
Basic
Research
•
•
• Application &
• Applied
.......... Technology
Research
Transfer
Operation
& Development
Support and Maintenance
RESPONSIBILITY: 44_
_ s_h_a_
re_d_ _ .,
.
FS R&D
Land Management Organizations
The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) provides leadership
to the wildland fire community regarding training, standards,
equipment, firefighting qualifications, and other wildland fire functions.
NWCG Members List
6
Three Branches with Committees:
Policy, Planning,
and Management
•
•
•
•
•
•
Fire policy
Interagency fire planning
Fuels management
Communication, education,
and prevention
Smoke
WUI mitigation
Equipment and Technology
•
•
•
•
Information technology
Equipment technology
Fire environment
National interagency aviation
Preparedness
•
•
•
•
Incident business
Nat’l Response Framework/
Nat’l Incident Mgt. Systems
Risk management
Operations and workforce
development
7
Decision Support—Models, Tools, Systems
Nationally-Adopted
“Corporate” Systems
• BehavePlus
• WFAS (Wildland Fire
Assessment System)
• FireFamilyPlus
• FARSITE
• FlamMap
• FFE-FVS (fire and fuels)
Other National Systems
• FOFEM (fire effects)
• FEIS (fire effects information)
• FIREMON (fire monitoring)
And Contributions to:
• LANDFIRE
• FPA
• WFDSS
Application and Implementation - - Who Cares?!
100
90
86.0
80
70
60
50
40
26.0
30
20.3
15.1
20
13.8
10
9.4
8.8
8.6
8.1
5.7
4.2
3.4
2.9
1.8
1.8
1.0
1.0
S
FC
C
La
nd
f ir
e
Al
fr e
sc
o
VD
DT
A+
Co
ns
um
e
FS
Ve
g
SA
SE
M
FM
P
FF
Ne
xu
s
Pr
o
FS
Re
ra
p
ap
am
M
FE
Fl
SF
M
FV
FO
FE
RS
IT
E
FA
e
0
Be
ha
v
Percent of respondents who listed models
All Agencies (n = 385)
USFS, NPS, BLM, USFWS, BIA, State, TNC
9
10
11
Wildland Fire Decision Support System
12
We (FS R&D) aren’t doing this alone ! !
We facilitate and nurture partnerships
with academia, NGOs, and many other agencies.
For example……
13
Research andUSDA
Development
Facilities
Locations
Forest Service Experimental
Areas
Seattle
Olympia
Wenatchee
#
0
#
0 #
#
0 0
G. Arthaud 8/7/06
Priest River
Entiat
Coram
Big Falls
#
0 #
#
0
0 0
Grand Rapids
#
0#
Deception Creek
Missoula
0 Moscow
Houghton
#
#
0
0 #
#
0
#
0
#
0#
Corvallis #
0
0
Bozeman
South Burlington #
Rinelander #
0#
0
0
0#
0
#
0#
#
0
St. Paul
Durham
#
0
0#
Syracuse
#
0 Rapid City
#
Amherst
0
Boise
#
0 East Lansing
Arcata
Redding
Hamden
Forest
Products
Lab
#
0
Warren
Logan
#
0
#
0
Evanston
NRS HQ
#
0 #
Ogden
#
0#0 Reno
0
#
0
RMRS
HQ
Delaware
Provo
Lincoln
West Lafayette
Davis
PSW HQ
Morgantown
#
0
Lincoln
#
0
0
0 Parsons
#
0 #
#
0 #
#
0
Columbia
#
0#
0
#
0 Princeton Blacksburg
Fresno
0
#
0 #
Research Triangle Park
Knoxville
#
0 Flagstaff
#
#
0#
#
0
00
Otto #
0#
Albuquerque
00Clemson
Riverside #
#
0
#
0
#
0
Athens
#
#
0
0
#
0
#
0 Charleston
Monticello
Starkville
#
0
0
#
0#
Auburn
Stoneville
PNW HQ
Wind River
Pike Bay
Penobscot
Kawishiwi
Marcell
Cutfoot Sioux
Tenderfoot Creek
Cascade Head
McCormick
Starkey
Dukes
H. J. Andrews
Pringle Falls
South Umpqua
Bartlett
Hubbard Brook
Argonne
Boise Basin
Black Hills
Redwood
Massabesic
Lower Peninsula
Udell
Coulee
Blacks Mountain
Swain Mountain
Glacier Lakes
Kane
Caspar Creek
Challenge
Sagehen
Onion Creek
Silas Little
Great Basin
Stanislaus-Tuolumne
San Joaquin
Fraser
Paoli Vinton Furnace
Desert
Fernow
Manitou
Teakettle
Kaskaskia
Sinkin
Fort Valley
San Dimas
Bent Creek
Sylamore
Koen
Coweeta
Blue Valley
North MountainLong Valley
Alum Creek
Sierra Ancha
Tallahatchie
Calhoun
Scull Shoals
Santee
Hitchiti
Delta
Crossett
Nacogdoches
Pineville
#
0 #
#
0 #
0
0
#
0 Saucier
Escambia
Stephen F. Austin
Chipola
Palustris
Harrison
New Orleans
Alaska
#
0
#
0
Olustee
Gainesville
Fairbanks
Bonanza Creek
Ankorage
Juneau
Sitka
#
0
#
0
Maybeso
Young Bay
Hawaii (proposed)
#
0
Hawaii
IPIF
IITF HQ
U.S. Virgin Islands
#
0
Puerto Rico
Luquillo
#
0
Estate Thomas
Research Stations
areas 50
NorthernExperimental
Pacific Southwest
Station
HQ
7
Pacific Northwest
Rocky Mountain
Southern
Laboratory/RWU
58
TOTAL
145
Lands
#
0
Experimental Area
80
National Forest
Laboratory/RWU
Station HQ
TOTAL
58
7
145



Funding Sources
Portfolio Areas
Emerging Research Needs
15




Base Research Funding: $22 million (about 8% of FS
research, 157 FTE, enriched by crosscutting research)
“Fire Plan” or Hazardous Fuels Funding: $22 millioneffects and effectiveness of hazardous fuels
treatments
Joint Fire Science Program: $14 million in BLM and FS
funds, administered through competitive grants
FS Fire and Aviation Management also supports
research and science delivery with millions of dollars
targeted to particular products or lines of work
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17





Physical Fire Science--physical fire processes (combustion, heat
transfer, emissions), fire characteristics at multiple scales, and fire
danger assessment.
Ecological and Environmental Fire Science--fire effects on ecosystem
components, and fire and environmental interactions.
Social Fire Science--public interactions with fire and fuels
management, socio-economic aspects of fires and fuels management,
and organizational effectiveness.
Integrated Fire and Fuels Management--management strategies at
multiple scales; treatment and disturbance effects on ecosystem
components; and forest operations, including biomass utilization and
product development associated with fire and fuel management
activities.
Science Delivery-- ensuring that knowledge generated by the Forest
Service is transferred to and adopted by policy makers, wildland fire
managers, and local communities.
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
Fire in a Changing Climate

Fire and water/watersheds


Changing development patterns due to
economic conditions – how will the WUI be
impacted
Research to support implementation of the
Cohesive Strategy
19
Collaborative, risk based management – what data,
skills, knowledge do we need to make it happen?
20