Strong collaboration between ecologists and fuels specialists has produced an interagency fire effects monitoring protocol for Alaska.  Fire ecologists from Refuges, National Parks and Bureau of Land Management were the lead editors of the protocol, but individuals from other federal and state agencies were also key in its development. The interagency Fire Effects Task Group (a task group under the Alaska Wildland Fire Coordinating Group (AWFCG)) has worked to identify shared fire monitoring objectives and the appropriate protocol to measure effects in the field.  The interagency protocol was developed to encourage collaboration across administrative boundaries in a manner that maximizes monitoring efficiency, meets common monitoring needs for fire and fuels treatment projects, and provides flexible protocols that can be implemented during an active fire or expanded to meet more detailed project objectives.  More specifically, the protocol address objectives to monitor changes in vegetation, fuels and soils following disturbance; to determine vegetation successional trajectories; and to provide input data for fire behavior models and land classification projects.  Three levels of monitoring (Surveillance, Moderate and Comprehensive) were identified to meet the different monitoring needs.  The protocol can be modified to meet specific projects objectives or used as described.  Data sheets for each measurement variable are provided to facilitate data collection and consistency between projects.  The protocol is posted on the AWFCG website at: http://fire.ak.blm.gov/administration/awfcg_committees.php or on the FIREHOUSE website at: http://depts.washington.edu/nwfire/publication/AK_Fire_Effects_Monitoring_Protocol_2007.pdf