Northeast Region Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy banner with a graphic of the 20 states of the Northeast and Midwest and National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy logo.
The Northeast Regional Strategy Committee (NE RSC) provides executive leadership, coordination, and guidance to carry out the Northeast Regional Action Plan while providing a forum for members to guide strategic direction for fire and land management activities. The NE RSC continues to collaboratively recognize, support, and help with National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy goals and implementation efforts.

Brad Simpkins, New Hampshire State Forester
In This Issue
Northeast Region Cohesive Strategy Key Contacts

Chair

Chief Fire Warden

Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation

 

Maureen Brooks

Vice-Chair

U.S. Forest Service Northeastern Area S&PF

 

Larry Mastic

Coordinator, Northeast Region

Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy

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June 2018

Reducing Risk to Wildfire Loss Does Not Have to be Costly
National Fire Protection Association and Xchange combined logos. 
Blog Post by  Faith Berry

April 24, 2018

Home with trees and a neatly groomed yard.
(Courtesy photo by NFPA)

As I was finishing raking up the mess from this year's past storm fronts, I was thinking about how residents living in wildfire prone areas can do so much to reduce their risk of loss to wildfires by completing some simple and low cost property maintenance chores. Spring cleaning can also improve your wildfire safety. In a recent article, Making Homes Resistant to Wildfire May be Cheaper Than We Thought, Jack Cohen shares, "So that raises the question: can we actually prevent home ignitions using extreme wildfires," Cohen said. "And again: a resounding 'Yes!'"


Megan's Corner - June 2018
LANDFIRE logo and the text In the Northeast.
  • In Case You Missed It - No matter what your experience with fire behavior fuel models (FBFMs) is, please fill out this quick survey. Your feedback will help me (and others) learn what the gaps in knowledge are in our region and cater to YOUR needs! What more could you ask for?
    • Heard of that risk assessment thing? The most commonly used methodology is heavily driven by LANDFIRE-mapped FBFMs. Help me help you learn more about them to provide meaningful input to risk assessment efforts.
    • Get it done now while it is on your mind but no later than September 30, 2018. If you wait that long you'll probably forget about it, but in some future newsletter I will be providing a summary of the results, and having YOU included is important.
  • Bemidji Hazard and Exposure Mapping: Greg Dillon from the Fire Modeling Institute at the U.S. Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station completed wildfire hazard and exposure mapping for Bemidji, MN, using LANDFIRE data. This work was done as part of a Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) project and was the first CPAW project in the Northeast region. Currently they are working on a new project in New Jersey. Check out the report in the city's weekly newsletter. The CPAW recommendations for Bemidji start on page 31 of the PDF, and the hazard and exposure mapping appendix starts on page 70. 
  • Fire Continuum Conference: Talk about a jam-packed program with some of the smartest fire scientists in the biz, New Jersey Forest FireSupervisorGreg McLaughlin and I learned so much about fire behavior modeling and wildfire risk assessment that our heads almost exploded. After that, and a lot of good networking time, we treated ourselves to well-deserved chicken-fried steaks while discussing the implications/applicability in the Northeast and how to communicate what we learned, especially at the NE RSC Face-to Face and Northeast Forest Fire Supervisors meeting this month. Some of the LANDFIRE crew were also in attendance presenting at the conference and I got to hang out with them! How cool is that?! But wait, there's more...check out my Google forum post for pictures and videos from the Missoula Fire Sciences Lab!
    A man and woman pose for a picture with food in front of them on a table.
    Megan Sebasky and Greg McLaughlin (NJ Forest Fire Service) (Courtesy photo provided by Megan Sebasky)
Two men and two women pose for a picture.
L to R: Josh Picotte (Remote Sensing Fire Specialist-LANDFIRE), Birgit Peterson (Geographer, Fire Lead-LANDFIRE), Megan, and Henry Bastian (LANDFIRE DOI Business Lead) (Courtesy photo provided by Megan Sebasky)

NE LANDFIRE Contact: Megan.Sebasky@wisconsin.gov

 
Living With Fire: Why and How?
Logo Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network.

May 30, 2018

Learn about how Gloria Erickson is helping the Ely, Minnesota, community understand how it can begin to live more safely with wildfire. (YouTube video courtesy of Minnesota DNR)




Fantastic Failure: Big Stick, Big Mouth
Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network logo.
Eric Lovgren

May 31, 2018

View of burned woods on a sunny day.
(Courtesy photo from Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network website)

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. ~ Douglas Adams

I get a lot of use out of this quote. It was penned by the man who reminded us that flying is simply learning to throw oneself at the ground and miss. For me, it perfectly frames our relationship with failure. We love to celebrate our success and to share how we've reached our goals. But what about the times we came up short, or just flat-out blew it? Generally speaking, we try to forget about those moments as quickly as possible. There is a lesson in every failed attempt though. I would argue that we learn more from our mistakes than we do our successes. Most of us have a botched effort somewhere in our past that we'd rather not talk about, but probably should. Today, I'm going to share one of my most fantastic professional failures.

Read the full fantastic failure article .

New Wildfire Video Available
The Outlook

May 2018

Prepare for Wildfire: The Hwy 1 Fire Wake-up Call
This video addresses community preparedness in the face of the recent Highway 1 wildfire in Ely, Minnesota. It gives residents the tools they need to prepare for this kind of event should it happen again in the future.


This video was made possible with support provided by Promoting Ecosystem Resilience and Fire Adapted Communities Together - a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service and agencies of the Department of the Interior through a sub-award to the Watershed Research and Training Center. The USDA Forest Service is an equal opportunity employer. Additional support was provided by the MN DNR Firewise program, which is funded by Title III funds of the Secure Rural Schools Act. Additional support by the St. Louis County funded by the Title III funds of the Secure Rural Schools Act. Special thanks to Vermilion Community College, Morse Fall Lake Fire Department, Ely Fire Department, Eagle's Nest Fire Department, Forest Stewards Guild, and the Dorothy Molter Museum.



NACo Launches County Wildfire Playbook
National Cohesive WIldland Fire Management Strategy logo and the words Western Region Resilient Landscapes Fire Adapted Communities Safe and Effective Wildfire Response. Almost two years ago, the Western Region's partnership with the National Association of Counties (NACo) blossomed over an idea to create a tool that County Commissioners and Supervisors can use to help their communities understand wildfire risk and learn to live with wildland fire. Several county leaders participated in the project which culminated in a playbook with activities and messaging that county leaders and staff can easily use to enhance their leadership, build trust, understanding and acceptance of living with fire. The County Wildfire Playbook was launched last week at NACo's Western Interstate Region annual meeting. The feedback has been positive so far and we are excited that as counties experience additional wildfire issues, the site will be updated to address new concerns. Please test drive the new site

Screenshot of a web page with the text County Wildfire Playbook A County Leadership Guide to Help Communities Become More Fire Adapted and Learn to Live with Wildland Fire.
(Courtesy photo from County Wildfire Playbook website)

Fire Department Exchange Now Accepting Applications
International Association of Fire Chiefs logo.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs' (IAFC)  Fire Department Exchange (FDX) Program has opened applications for the upcoming face-to-face exchange in Boise, Idaho, October 9-11.

As part of the  IAFC Wildland Fire Programs, FDX provides in-person and online exchange platforms for fire departments facing wildland-urban interface outreach and mitigation challenges. The core focus is to encourage exchanges among departments to broaden their knowledge-base, consider alternative measures, create new solutions and improve overall practices and procedures within their wildland fire programs.

The deadline for applications is July 13. Apply today!

Read the entire application announcement online.

Conferences, Meetings, and Training Opportunities

   
 
Conferences and Meetings

--Regional--
 
69th Annual Commission Meeting of the Northeast Forest Fire Protection Commission
August 1-2, 2018
Hilton Providence
Providence, RI
 
--National-- 

The Northeast Regional Strategy Committee (NE RSC) delivers articles and stories each month that demonstrate the collaborative efforts of agencies, organizations and communities supporting and promoting the three goals of the Cohesive Strategy: Restoring Resilient Landscapes, Creating Fire Adapted Communities and Responding to Wildfire. 

 

This news update is our primary communication tool with our partners and the public. Looking for more Northeast Region Cohesive Strategy information or past published news update issues? Visit this Web site.

 

Does your agency, organization, or community have a project or event you'd like to see featured in the NE RSC News Update? 

 

Tell us about it! Just contact  Larry Mastic .
Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry | 603-953-3294 | rfitzhenry@fs.fed.us | https://www.fs.usda.gov/naspf/
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