• DOI ES & BAR
• FWS Contacts
• Plan Status
• FWS Policy Guidance
• What's New

Policy Guidance

Policy Guidance

Roles, Responsibilities and Accountability

Plan preparation, review, approval, and implementation require immediate action and span multiple program responsibilities and disciplines are summarized below:  

• Plan preparation - Refuge Manager 
• Plan review 
• Compatibility and compliance review - Refuge Manager 
• Fiscal and policy review – Regional Fire Management Coordinator / National Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation Coordinator
• Plan approval 
• < $500,000 - Regional Director 
• > $500,000 - Chief, Branch of Fire Management 
• Plan implementation - Refuge Manager 
• Plan implementation oversight - Refuge Supervisor
• Program budget tracking and accountability - Chief, Branch of Fire Management
  

Planning

Emergency stabilization and rehabilitation treatments will be described in separate plans.  The Burned Area Emergency Response (emergency stabilization) Plan will specify only emergency activities and treatments carried out within one year of wildfire containment and must be completed within 7 calendar days after total wildfire containment and approved within 6 business days of receipt by the approving office (extensions can be granted by the approving office). The Burned Area Rehabilitation Plan will specify non-emergency activities and treatments which are compatible with approved unit management plans and can be accomplished within 3 years of wildfire containment.  A plan amendment, approved by the original plan approval authority unless the total cost of the plan exceeds that authority, is required to document and support any additional funding requests and can be made at any time.  Burned Area Emergency Response (emergency stabilization) and Burned Area Rehabilitation Plan templates are provided.

• Burned Area Emergency Response (emergency stabilization) Plan template and examples
• Burned Area Rehabilitation Plan template and example
  

Plan Review and Approval

Project leaders submit electronic copies of completed plans to the Regional Fire Management Coordinator (RFMC) and National Burned Area Emergency Response Coordinator (NBAERC) for concurrent and coordinated technical, fiscal and policy review. The RFMC presents the plan and RFMC/NBAERC approval recommendations to the Regional Director for approval. Following Regional Director approval, the NBAERC presents plans with estimated costs > $500,000 to the Chief, Fire Management Branch for final approval. Following plan approval, the NBAERC performs the necessary NFPORS data entry according to the approved plan.

Funding

Emergency Stabilization (subactivity 9142) and Burned Area Rehabilitation (subactivity 9262) funding guidance should be referenced when developing and implementing a Burned Area Emergency Response (emergency stabilization) and/or Burned Area Rehabilitation Plan.  The FireCode fire number will be used to establish the cost structure for all 9142 and 9262 projects. The appropriate cost structure will be activated only after plan approval. Planned data entries into the NFPORS Rehabilitation and Restoration module are the responsibility the National Burned Area Emergency Response Coordinator while accomplishment data entries are the responsibility of the field unit or Regional office.  Consideration of additional Emergency Stabilization or Burned Area Rehabilitation funding beyond the first year requires monitoring documentation and an Annual Accomplishment Report (see Reporting Requirements below). 

Subactivity 9142 - Emergency Stabilization funding is provided for no more than one year following total containment of the wildfire, except that emergency stabilization funding can be used for up to three years following total containment of the wildfire for treatment effectiveness monitoring and to repair or replace emergency stabilization structures or treatments where failure to do so would imperil watershed functionality or result in serious loss of downstream values. However, emergency stabilization funding cannot be used to continue seeding, plantings, and invasive plant treatments beyond one year. Continued treatment funding beyond the first year requires an approved plan amendment including monitoring documentation justifying the additional funding request and data entry into NFPORS R&R module. Emergency stabilization plans and expenditures will conform to Interagency Burned Area Emergency Response Guidebook standards and guidelines.

Subactivity 9262 – Funding for rehabilitation treatments is provided in one-year increments for no more than three years following containment of a wildland fire; therefore, obligating funds in one fiscal year for use in another is only done when there is not sufficient time to initiate and complete the contracting necessary to begin treatment work as identified in an approved plan. All rehabilitation projects or treatments are funded on a priority basis as established by the NBAER Coordinators in consultation with the Office of Wildland Fire Coordination.  If necessary, the priority selection for treatments on prior-year fires will occur shortly after the start of each fiscal year.  Funding will be distributed upon passage of the Interior Appropriation bill.   Rehabilitation plans will conform to Interagency Burned Area Emergency Response Guidebook standards and guidelines.

Budget Allocation

The Branch of Fire Management will timely budget allocate available Emergency Stabilization (subactivity 9142) or Burned Area Rehabilitation (subactivity 9262) funds based on information in the approved plan by:

• Establishing a FireCode compatible cost structure for the approved plan (either 9142 or 9262).
• Initiating the budget allocation process based on fiscal year funding needs identified in the approved plan.
• Notifying (via e-mail) the organization and regional fire management and budget offices of the established cost structure and funding allocated.
  

Reporting Requirements

A Burned Area Emergency Response (emergency stabilization) and/or Burned Area Rehabilitation Plan Annual Accomplishment Report developed by the field unit is required to receive continued funding in years two and three, and will document treatment and activity accomplishments, actual implementation costs, and treatment effectiveness.  Accomplishment reports may require more detail information for local management and less detail information for national office or Departmental use.  Summarized accomplishment information will be collected and archived at the appropriate field, regional and national office levels for use in program planning, review, and oversight as necessary. 

Detailed Annual Accomplishment Reports are completed by the end of each fiscal year and will document actual accomplishments, costs and monitoring results and kept in field unit project files.  For national office use, annual accomplishments are summarized and reported on the NFPORS treatment/activity form in the following NFPORS fields:

• Enter the actual accomplishments and actual initiation and completion dates in to the appropriate NFPORS fields. If nothing was done enter 9/30/yyyy in both the Actual Initiation and Completion Date and 0 in the Actual FY Accomplishments (treatments only).

• In the Notes field enter the actual treatment/activity implementation cost. If nothing was done and no funds were expended, note that. If unaccomplished work needs to continue into the next fiscal year that needs to be stated and indicate how much funding needs to be reprogrammed. In addition summarize the results of the treatment effectiveness monitoring. The NFPORS Notes field has a maximum capacity of 1500 characters (approximately 200 words).

The Burned Area Emergency Response (emergency stabilization) and/or Rehabilitation Plan Final Accomplishment Report will report plan activities in sufficient detail to document all accomplishments, implementation costs and monitoring results.  The Final Accomplishment Report is completed no later than 3 years and 60 days following wildfire containment.  An electronic copy of all Final Accomplishment Reports is provided to the Branch of Fire Management in Boise, Idaho, and is posted on the Service's Emergency Stabilization and Burned Area Rehabilitation web site.

return to ES & BAR Home

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages public land in every U.S. state and territory, including 547 national wildlife refuges and 69 national fish hatcheries.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 75 million burnable acres, including 24 million acres of forest/brushland and 4 million acres of grassland.

More than 50% of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands in the continental U.S. (and more than 90% in Alaska) include fire-adapted ecosystems with vegetation dependent on periodic fire.

An average of 500 wildfires burn 260,000 acres each year on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. The Service also burns about 300,000 acres a year using prescribed fire.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annual fire program budget is approximately $80 million.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs more than 530 permanent fire professionals, along with 270 seasonal and temporary fire employees during fire season.

More than 3,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees are qualified to assist with wildland fire management on an interagency basis.

The U.S. Fish and Wildland Service Fire Management Program protects more than 700 communities and wildland-urban interface areas.

Historically, an acre was the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This measures 90% of a football field. There are 640 acres in a square mile.

More than 90% of the hazardous fuels reduction by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is completed using prescribed fire.