Pacific NW Fire Environment Advisory Council
Contents
1 Identification
2 Strategic Intent
2.1 Vision
2.2 Purpose
2.3 Mission
2.4 Responsibility
3 Scope
4 Authorities
4.1 Delegation of Authority
5 Organization Structure & Relationships
5.1 Relationships
5.2 Stakeholders & Partners
6 Membership
6.1 General
6.2 Primary
6.3 Associate
6.4 Decision-Making
7 Products & Services
March 2010
Page 1
1 Identification
The Interagency Pacific NW Fire Environment Advisory Council, hereafter referred to as PNW FENC, charters to
the Pacific NW Wildland Fire Coordinating Group.
2 Strategic Intent
2.1 Vision:
Provide leadership in fire behavior, fire danger, and fire weather programs and practices, offer expert
advice and guidance to the wildland fire community, decision-makers, and policy-makers relative to
matters of the fire environment. Ensure the interests of the wildland fire agencies are appropriately
represented to the Pacific NW Wildland Fire Coordinating Group (PNWCG) through open
communication and coordination.
2.2 Purpose:
PNW FENC focuses the Interagency fire community on sound science and best practices relevant to
measuring, analyzing and predicting the fire environment in the Pacific NW. This focus ensures wellinformed decision-making that provides for the safety and welfare of the wildland fire community.
2.3 Mission:
PNW FENC’s mission is to develop and sustain the skills and capacity necessary for accurate and timely
measurement, analysis, and prediction of the fire environment, as well as mentor and provide support to
the wildland fire community. PNW FENC functions formally in an advisory capacity to PNWCG,
elevating issues for discussion; additionally PNW FENC will accomplish tasks assigned to them by that
group.
2.4 Responsibility:
PNW FENC’s primary responsibility is to ensure a strategic framework exists that will guarantee,
pertaining to the fire environment, a sustainable network of analysts and technical specialists utilizing
up-to-date science and technologies in support of decision-makers, human health and safety. We
advocate best practices that reflect interagency policies and standards; partner with research, academia,
and agency cooperators; and build relationships between researchers, practitioners, fire managers,
decision-makers, and policy makers. Our individual responsibilities include:
 Task PNW FENC members and/or appoint sub-groups from outside PNW FENC to work on specific
projects.
 Maintain the official PNW FENC membership and address list for communications.
 Distribute copies of PNW FENC meeting/conference call minutes within a timely manner to
members, and post them to the PNW FENC web page on the PNWCG website.
 Elevate issues/recommendations to PNWCG, other working teams, and as appropriate, to outside
individuals or groups.
 Recommend to the PNWCG Chair the need for further resources and authorities as they become
evident.
 Keep the PNWCG Chair advised as to meeting dates and locations.
3 Scope
FENC is interagency in scope and includes all aspects of fire management related to the analysis and prediction of
fires that result from planned and unplanned ignitions in the states of Oregon and Washington.
4 Authorities
PNW FENC is established pursuant to the charter authority granted to the parent group, the Pacific Northwest
Wildfire Coordinating Group (PNWCG) through the respective agency fire management leadership for the
Department of Agriculture and the Interior, plus the states of Oregon and Washington to assist in accomplishing
the PNWCG’s mission and goals.
March 2010
Page 2
4.1 Delegation of Authority
PNW FENC is delegated the authority to:
 develop and execute an annual program of work
 create units and task groups.
5 Organization Structure & Relationships
5.1 Relationships:
Subunit of PNWCG
5.2 Member Organizations
 USDA Forest Service
 USDI Bureau of Land Management
 USDI National Park Service
 USDI Bureau of Indian Affairs
 USDI Fish and Wildlife Service
 Oregon Department of Forestry
 Washington Department of Natural Resources
 National Weather Service
 PNW Predictive Services Unit
6 Membership
6.1 General:
PNW FENC meets quarterly, with at least one meeting each year convened in person. The membership is
drawn from the organizations listed in 5.2 above. PNW FENC Officers consist of a Chair and Vice Chair.
Members and officers serve two year terms; there are no limits on successive terms.
Membership responsibilities include:
Chair:
 Represents PNW FENC to PNWCG.

Serves as the PNW FENC spokesperson.

Convenes meetings as deemed necessary by the Council members or PNWCG.

Presides over the meetings.

Recommends the need for further resources and authority.

Assigns work to task groups.

Selects ad hoc subject matter experts to assist in issue resolution.

Prepares and signs correspondence approved by voting members.

Sends meeting announcements, agenda items, etc., to membership.
Vice-Chair:
 Assumes Chair responsibilities in the absence of the Chair.

March 2010
Monitors on-going projects and the development and implementation of Council
procedures.
Page 3

Ensures a note taker is available for record keeping.

Maintains the permanent record of Council activities.

Coordinates publication of meeting minutes and other FENC documentation on the PNWCG
web page.

Distributes meeting minutes to the Council and PNWCG, and to other working team and
advisory group chairs as appropriate.
Members:
 Participate in all regularly scheduled meetings or send a designated representative.Solicit
topics from agency and other constituents for inclusion in the meeting agendas.

Submit sufficiently in advance any briefing papers concerning issues to be included on the
upcoming meeting’s agenda.

Relay team activities and developments to constituents.

Members who are consistently unable to attend meetings are encouraged to resign their
position.
Subject Matter Experts:
 Assemble information requested by PNW FENC for presentation and peer review by the
members.
Liaisons
 Represent other NWCG or PNWCG committees, subcommittees, groups, councils or working
teams.
 Address issues and provide information to PNW FENC on specific topics of interest.
6.2 Primary (voting):
Primary members consist of representatives from stakeholders listed in Section 5.2, the Chair and Vice-Chair.
6.3 Associate (non-voting):
Subject-matter Experts
Liaisons
6.4 Decision-Making
A quorum is necessary for all decisions.

For selecting officers, a simple majority is required.

For all other internal decision-making, a 2/3 majority is required if consensus can’t be reached.

The Chair will resolve any tie vote.
7 Products & Services
 Provide a forum for fire behavior/long term analysts, IMETS, researchers, and others to elevate
issues concerning the fire environment.
 Communicate to PNWCG issues and concerns that are common to the Geographic Area related to
measurement and prediction of the fire environment.
 Provide members for strategic working teams to support specific projects or tasks relevant to
March 2010
Page 4
Geographic Area, and National, issues and PNW FENC’s mission.
 Provide representation to PNWCG and PNWCG Working Teams and Advisory Councils.
 Provide recommendations to PNWCG on interagency issues that impact the capability of
measuring/predicting the fire environment or the delivery of those products in support of resource
management decisions.
 Complete an Annual Accomplishment Report; this will be delivered at the annual meeting between
PNWCG Working Teams and the PNWCG Steering Committee.
 Coordinate relevant training, workshops, and conferences.
 Prepare white papers.
 Complete specific PNWCG-directed tasks.
March 2010
Page 5