| Fire
management decisions within the National Park Service
(NPS) require information on fire behavior and on the
effects of fire on park resources. The fire monitoring
program described in the NPS Fire Monitoring Handbook
(FMH; 2003) allows park managers to document basic information,
to detect trends, and to ensure that each park meets
its fire and resource management objectives. From identified
trends, park staff can articulate concerns, develop
hypotheses, and identify specific research studies to
develop solutions to problems.
This handbook is intended to facilitate
and standardize monitoring where appropriate for NPS units
that are subject to burning by wildland or prescribed
fire. There are many benefits to establishing standardized
data collection procedures. Uniformly-gathered data will
facilitate information exchange among parks and provide
historical program documentation and databases useful
for refinements of the parks' fire management programs.
In addition, standard procedures will enable fire monitors
to move to or assist other parks without additional training.
It defines and establishes levels of monitoring
activity relative to fire and resource management objectives
and fire management strategies. At each successive level,
monitoring is more extensive and complex; the levels are
cumulative, requiring users to include all levels below
the highest specified:
- Level 1 - Environmental Monitoring
- Level 2 - Fire Conditions
- Level 3 - Short-term Change
- Level 4 - Long-term Change
Procedures and recommended frequencies for monitoring
and analysis are specified for each level.
Depending on a park's management objectives, a park may
need a specific monitoring design beyond or instead of
the design covered in this handbook. References to different
monitoring procedures are provided in the appendices.
A standardized system to cover the wide diversity of areas
within the NPS will need finetuning from park to park.
To facilitate this, each park will receive oversight and
review for its monitoring program from its regional fire
monitoring program manager, and refinements to this Fire
Monitoring Handbook will be made as necessary.
NPS Fire
Monitoring Handbook (4.33 MB)
Fire is a powerful and enduring force that has
had, and will continue to have, a profound influence
on National Park Service (NPS) lands. Fire management
decisions within the National Park Service require information
on fire behavior and on the effects of fire on park
resources.
|
 |
Monitoring Protocol
Clearinghouse
View approved monitoring protocols
in use by the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program.
|
|
|
