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Kelvin Hirsch Canadian Forest Service P resentation to XX1 st North American Forestry Commission

NAFC – Fire Management Working Group Report. Kelvin Hirsch Canadian Forest Service P resentation to XX1 st North American Forestry Commission October 15-18, 2002, Kona, Hawaii. Presentation Outline. 1. Introduction/background on fire in North America

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Kelvin Hirsch Canadian Forest Service P resentation to XX1 st North American Forestry Commission

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  1. NAFC – Fire Management Working Group Report Kelvin Hirsch Canadian Forest Service Presentation to XX1st North American Forestry Commission October 15-18, 2002, Kona, Hawaii

  2. Presentation Outline 1. Introduction/background on fire in North America 2. Emerging issues in fire management 3. NAFC-Fire Management Working Group • Objectives • History • Current membership • Recent activities 4. Future Challenges and Opportunities for FMWG

  3. Fire in North America: Introduction and Background

  4. Ecological effects • ecosystem health • biodiversity • landscape metrics Socio-economic impacts • life and property • timber supply • water and air quality Fire is a natural component of most forest ecosystems in North America

  5. Fire Regimes Infrequent, high intensity crown fire (e.g., boreal) Frequent, low intensity surface fire (e.g., ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir) Eric Knapp USGS Flannigan et al. Little or no fire (coastal or tropical rain forest) Wide range of natural fire regimes

  6. Fire Statistics Annual Averages Country No. Fires Area Burned (ha) Canada 8,000 2.7 million Mexico 6,500 0.2 million USA 69,000 1.6 million Recent Extreme Years Country Year No. Fires Area Burned (ha) Canada 1995 8,500 7.2 million Mexico 1998 14,500 0.85 million USA 2000 88,000 3.2 million

  7. Emerging Fire Management Issues in North America

  8. Emerging Fire Management Issues Social/Human Issues Land clearing/conversion for agriculture Wildland-Urban Interface Firefighter safety Smoke

  9. Emerging Fire Management Issues Economic Issues Suppression costs and limitations Property, services, and resource losses Fuels management

  10. Allen Farnsworth USFS Emerging Fire Management Issues Ecological Issues Forest health and biodiversity • Restoration • Maintenance • Potential negative impacts

  11. Emerging Fire Management Issues Ecological Issues Climate Change • Climate change impact on fire activity • Fires contribution to climate change

  12. Ecosystem Management is Risk Management Sustainable forest/resource/land management is a form of risk management Must seek to balance • Shorter-term socioeconomic risks associated with fire • Longer-term ecological risks associated with no-fire (or the wrong type of fire) Social Ecological Economic

  13. Fire Management Working Group Objectives, History, Membership, Activities

  14. NAFC-FMWG Objectives • Exchange information, ideas, and technology aimed at advancing forest fire management policies and practices. • Promote mutual aid and technical exchanges between, Canada, Mexico and the United States to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of forest fire management. • Actively support and participate with international agencies to conduct and promote activities that will foster world-wide cooperation and development pertaining to fire management.

  15. NAFC-FMWG History Established in 1962. Was one of the first five working groups of the NAFC. Has met annually (with a few exceptions) on a rotational basis between the three countries. Gathering of the fire management leadership from Canada, Mexico, and USA has been critical to facilitating international collaboration.

  16. NAFC-FMWG Membership Canada • Canadian Forest Service • Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre • Canadian Fire Management agencies Mexico • CONAFOR/SEMARNAT • INIFAP USA • USDA Forest Service • US Dept. Interior – BLM Observers Includes representatives from state/provincial governments, national and professional organizations; other nations

  17. NAFC-FMWG Activities Examples of Past Achievements Major international study tours 1968 – Fire management in Canada and the US (27 people from 25 countries; 2 month tour) 1975 – Mexico and USA (40 people from 27 countries) 1980 – Prescribed fire in USA (24 specialists from 10 countries) International Conferences 1989 – Boston (Wildland/Urban Interface) 1997 – Vancouver (Fire and Sustainable Development)

  18. NAFC-FMWG Activities Examples of Past Achievements (continued) Fire Prevention Sub-Committee Development, evaluation, and acceptance of 8 international fire prevention symbols. Forest Fire News Publication 1966 to late 1980s; technical magazine (20-40 pages) Glossary of Forest Fire Management Terms 1978 - English/Spanish/French – 288 terms

  19. NAFC-FMWG Activities Examples of Past Achievements (continued) Mutual Assistance Agreements Border agreements, first strike agreements, emergency assistance (e.g., US to Mexico in 1998) Personnel Exchanges/Training Fire suppression specialists Facilitate Collaborative Research e.g., fire equipment testing, FrostFire

  20. NAFC-FMWG Activities Recent Initiatives 1. Mexican Fire Enhancement Fund Training and technical assistance (50K CDN) 2. Mexican Fire Management Information System Adaptation and evaluation of Canadian system (50K CDN seed money) 3. Mexico Technical Support and Training Program USAID and USFS/BLM – extensive funding (540,000 K remaining)

  21. NAFC-FMWG Activities Recent Initiatives (continued) 4. Enhanced Border Agreement US/Mexico early strike agreement 5. Incident Command System Implementation and transfer of US-based system to Canada and Mexico 6. Third International Wildland Fire Conference Sydney Conference, Oct. 2003 (50K CDN seed money)

  22. Theme: • Urban and Rural Communities living in Fire Prone Environments: Managing the Future of Global Problems • Sub-Themes: • Balancing Conflicts: Social/cultural, ecological, economic • Future Trends and Their Influence on Fire Management • Enhancing Global Understanding and Cooperation Eric Knapp USGS

  23. Participants: • 500-800 delegates from 30+ countries • Managers, policy makers, manufacturers, educators, researchers • Global Wildland SummitDevelop strategies to support global cooperation and information exchange that enhance wildland fire management. • www.ausfire.com Eric Knapp USGS

  24. Fire Management Working Group: Challenges and Opportunities

  25. Challenges and Opportunities • Evaluate mandate within present context of sustainable resource management / ecosystem management • Ensure group’s activities are meaningful and effective • Facilitate research collaboration/cooperation • Establish linkages to other working group

  26. Time for Questions

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