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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
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Northeast Region Cohesive Strategy Key Contacts
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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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Forest Fire Compacts
Quick Links
Science and Joint Fire Science Consortiums & Exchanges
Social Media
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September 2017
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Firewise in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Minnesota
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Faith Berry, Associate Project Manager, NFPA Wildfire Division
September 6, 2017
[Editor's Note: NFPA's Firewise USA™ program will be sharing a series of articles about nationally recognized Firewise participant success stories from the Northeastern United States. Faith Berry recently interviewed residents from Cook County, Minnesota. They wanted to tell their story about how they are actively working toward creating neighborhoods that will be safer from wildfire loss.]
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Firewise Demonstration Day, Cook County, MN. (Courtesy photo by Todd Armbruster)
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I was fortunate to talk with Todd Armbruster, the Cook County Firewise Coordinator for the last 3 years. Todd works closely with Jeff Jackson, the Minnesota DNR Firewise Specialist for northeastern Minnesota. Todd shared a little bit about how well this community of 5,000 works with many other agency partners to reduce their risk of loss due to wildfire in Minnesota's boreal forest ecosystem. They recognize the threat from wildfire, especially after they experienced the loss of over 100 structures during the 2007 Ham Lake Fire that burnt 75,000 acres in their community. They also realize that it takes everyone working together to create safer communities.
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Master Woodland Owners Discuss Wildfire Risk in Minnesota
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Teresa Gallagher, District Ranger, Superior National Forest
August 12, 2017
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Minnesota DNR Wildfire Prevention Specialist Jeff Jackson demonstrates Firewise principles to private landowners. (U.S. Forest Service photo)
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Fire-prone forests were the focus of a field trip for private landowners during a Master Woodland Owners workshop near Virginia, MN, on August 12. Landowners and resource professionals from agencies that offer assistance programs discussed Firewise principles; identified fuels; and discussed fire behavior and the effects of unwanted wildfire as well as how wildfire affects the risk to firefighters, homeowners, neighbors, property, and adjacent lands.Two participants were from local volunteer fire departments.
Attendees were interested in managing their woodlands for forest health and wildlife habitat, and were there to learn what can be done on their land to reduce fire risk. Woodland owners toured properties adjacent to Superior National Forest land that was to receive fuel reduction treatments and talked about the benefits of removing dead or dying trees and thinning live trees to help reduce fire risk.
The field trip was part of the Master Woodland Owners Program, sponsored by the University of Minnesota Extension. This program delivers a comprehensive training curriculum for private woodland owners interested in becoming better stewards of their woods.
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Bemidji, Minnesota: A 2017 CPAW Community Wildfire Planning Project
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 [Editor's Note: The 2017-2018 Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) application process is now open. Applications and program information are available on the CPAW Web site and will be accepted until September 29, 2017, 5 p.m. MT.]
 The beautiful and remote Northwoods of Minnesota draw year-round visitors, and the pace of new development in the Greater Bemidji Area is increasing rapidly as a result. Because communities are scattered throughout its forested environment, all development is considered part of the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The local fire personnel respond to hundreds of fires each year, all of which are started by human sources, and many of which threaten homes or other structures. Fires average just five acres and successful suppression response rates have created a sense of security in the Greater Bemidji Area.
But the area has not always been so fortunate. More than a century ago, one of Minnesota's greatest disasters occurred in the north, burning more than 250,000 acres and killing 450 people. While no fire has since been as destructive, the Green Valley Fire in 2013 helped renew awareness of wildfire danger.
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Preserving Huffman Prairie Calls for Annual 'Burns'
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Jeannie Masters, 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
August 28, 2017
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Darryn Warner (far right), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wildland Fire Program manager, speaks with Joel Kemm and Krysten Dick from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service during a prescribed burn at Huffman Prairie in 2016. (Courtesy photo)
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Civil Engineering is preparing for the annual burn season at Huffman Prairie. The main purpose of burning is to protect and maintain the health of native plants and soil.
Darryn Warner, Wildland Fire Program manager, oversees all aspects of the natural resources for the installation from an environmental aspect.
"Tall grass prairies are fire dependent ecosystems that need to be burned in order to thrive," he said.
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Michigan DNR Wildfire Fighters Battle Western Blazes
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Helicopters fly over a burning hillside in Montana recently as firefighters work to control a grass fire. Two Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildland fire engines staffed by two three-man crews as well as an incident management team are in Montana now helping with fire suppression efforts. (Courtesy photo by Michigan DNR)
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MONTANA
--- Surrounded by smoke, constantly watching the wind and trying to tamp down fast-moving flames, Michigan Department of Natural Resources firefighters using two specially equipped fire trucks have been helping battle grass and forest wildfires in Montana since mid-July.
They may do what firefighters call "black lining"
--- purposely burning a strip of grass to deprive an approaching wildfire of fuel and stop it in its tracks.
Or they may "wet line"
--- dousing combustible materials in the path of a fire to keep a blaze from spreading.
Or they might, during a breather from work, do what any of us would: Whip out cell phones to shoot a quick video as a low-flying tanker plane releases a belly full of water over a hot spot of burning trees, brush or grass.
"Statistically, it's the grasses that are the most dangerous. They move fast and burn quick," said Ben Osterland, who led one of two three-man teams that drove the Michigan fire engines to Montana.
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Firefighters Return from Helping Fight Montana Wildfire
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August 9, 2017
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- A 20-person firefighting crew featuring Forest Rangers, Department of Environmental Conservation and volunteers arrived at Saratoga Tree Nursery recently after two weeks battling a wildfire in Montana.
The crew, made up of residents from across the state, worked to contain a 13,488-acre wildfire.The wildfire was believed to have been sparked by a lightning strike. Currently the fire is only 15 percent contained and is expected to burn until late September. The New York crew went out West with groups from Ohio, West Virginia and Missouri.
"To be on a western wildfire is a whole other experience. It's a great training," said Steven Jackson. "Montana was beautiful, besides all the fire and how dry it was, it was pretty neat to see a different landscape and habitat."
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Compendiums of Landscape Scale Conservation Efforts Now Available
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To ensure healthy ecosystems across the urban-to-rural continuum and across ownerships, the U.S. Forest Service works with partners towards shared landscape conservation goals.
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. --
Three publications on landscape scale conservation efforts are now available online. Federally Led Landscape Scale Conservation Initiatives in the Northeast and Midwest provides an inventory of initiatives led by the U.S. Forest Service and other Federal agencies. Multi-State Priority Areas in the Northeast and Midwest and Multi-State Priority Issues in the Northeast and Midwest each summarize the priorities that State Forestry agencies identified in their
2010 State Forest Action Plans
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Landscape scale conservation occurs when landowners pursue common goals across large blocks of land. The three documents are valuable for updating State Forest Action Plans, for identifying projects to submit for competitive grants and other funding, and to help identify existing partnerships as well as opportunities for cooperation. View the compendiums on the
Landscape Scale Conservation in the Northeast and Midwest page of the Northeastern Area's Web site.
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Megan's Corner - September 2017
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It's September already?! Yes, we have reached the deadline for data submissions and feedback for the Remap! I didn't tell you, but this was a soft deadline, and we still have a bit of time. Please contact me if you have any data leads or feedback.
Thank you to all who participated in my last-minute survey before the EROS trip; we got 21 responses! From the survey results, I saw that many of you preferred Webinars for receiving information about LANDFIRE, yet we haven't had anyone sign up for our personalized Webinar series! Use
this form if you'd like to see a Webinar on a specific topic, or I will just have to pick some! LANDFIRE is also offering
three Webinars this fall. Stay tuned for responses to the survey on the
Google Forum.
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Conferences, Meetings, and Training Opportunities
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--Regional--
2017 Crew Boss Academy
October 4-13, 2017
Fort Custer Training Center, MI
Nomination Form Deadline:
August 18, 2017
4th Biennial Shortleaf Pine Conference
October 3-5, 2017
Galloway, NJ
Field Trip: The Great Acadia Fire 70 Years Later
Hosted by North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange and the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact
October 17-18, 2017
Acadia, ME
Oak Symposium: Sustaining Oak Forests in the 21st Century through Science-based Management
October 24-26, 2017
Knoxville, TN
Igniting Exchange: Bridging the Gap between Science and Management
January 30 - February 1, 2018
Portland, ME
--National--
7th International Fire Ecology & Management Congress
Held concurrently with the 2nd Applied Fire Science Workshop
Hosted by the Association for Fire Ecology in cooperation with the Southern Fire Exchange
November 28 - December 2, 2017
Orlando, FL
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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?
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