New Hampshire Prescribed Fire Council Working Groups

Standard Operating Procedures Working Group

The Standard Operating Procedures published Planning for Prescribed Burning in New Hampshire: Minimum Recommended Standards for Planning and Implementing Prescribed Burns, which discusses minimum recommended standards for conducting prescribed burns in New Hampshire including specifications for burn plans, smoke management, crew and equipment levels, and similar aspects that should be considered in order to safely conduct prescribed burns. They also produced a NH Prescribed Fire Burn Plan template as part of the standards.

Members

Zach Boyajian, NH Army National Guard
Andy Fast, UNH Cooperative Extension
Jeff Lougee, The Nature Conservancy
Tom Natale, NH Division of Forests & Lands
John Neely, White Mountain National Forest
Jim Oehler, NH Fish & Game Department (Chair)

Training Certification and Standards Working Group

The TCS Working Group will provide direction to council members regarding prescribed fire training requirements and opportunities. The working group will identify existing training and certification standards currently used by council members. The working group will guide discussions towards creating multi-agency training and certification standards that will eventually allow council members to participate on each other's projects in a variety of training roles. The working group will establish a training calendar and prioritize needs for certification amoung council members.

Members

Zach Boyajian, NH Army National Guard (Chair)
Heidi Holman, NH Fish & Game Department
Art Canterbury, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
John Neely, White Mountain National Forest
Tom Trask, NH Division of Forest & Lands

Goal

Develop draft standards by November 30, 2010 with review and approval by the entire NH Prescribed Fire Council by January 31, 2011.

Training Certification and Standards Outline

Introduction- Need for established training and certification standards among council members (liability, professionalism, etc.)
Current existing standards among council members
Training and certification issues among council members’ programs
Minimum standards acceptable to council members and agencies
Training calendar, priority positions needed and priority trainee list
Monitoring – Did we meet our objectives?

Public Outreach Working Group

The PO Working Group will educate the public on the reasons for and benefits of prescribed fire in NH. The group will use the council’s web site and other forms of public media to make NH residents aware of current and past fire history in the state. The working group will highlight prescribed fire’s role in promoting local products (blueberry etc.), conserving habitat for TES (karner blue etc), restoring ecosystems (oak-pine), and reducing hazard fuels in the WUI. Other topics for education may include the decision process leading to a burn, live fire demonstrations, air quality, prescribed fire council promotional material (pamphlets, bumper stickers etc), and opportunities for public involvement (pre-post monitoring).