Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2010 [Southwest Texas Fire Group, Permian Fire Group, Southern Plains Fire Group]

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A summary of fire ecology activities and program information for the Park/network including fire effects plot workload, staffing, management objectives and monitoring results, and planning, fire monitoring, communications, and research. Also included are staff accomplishments/areas of focus, future program direction and other optional information (e.g. data analysis graphics or presentations, annual highlights, publications, program challenges, unique solutions to problems, collaboration, photographs of monitoring/fire activities, and suggestions on FFI). The Fire Ecologist attempts to serve three Fire Management Programs, The Southwest Texas Fire Group (SWTF), The Permian Fire Group and the Southern Plains Fire Group. The Southwest Texas Fire Management Group is composed of Big Bend National Park (BIBE), The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River (RIGR), Fort Davis National Historic Site (FODA), Amistad National Recreational Area (AMIS) and Palo Alto Battle (PAAL) Field. Most of the fire and fuels activity in the cluster occurs primarily at Big Bend National Park, although we are planning for prescribed fires at Fort Davis and Palo Alto. The Permian Fire Cluster is composed primarily of Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks, White Sand National Monument and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monuments and Chamizal National Memorial. Most of the fire and fuels activity occurs primarily at Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains. There are plans for prescribed fire at White Sands and Gila Cliff Dwellings, in the near future. Manual fuel reduction has occurred at Gila Cliff Dwellings focused primarily on archeological sites. The Southern Plains Fire Groups has seven parks that occur in four states. Chickasaw National Recreational Area and Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in Oklahoma, Lake Meredith National Recreational Area and Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument in the Panhandle of Texas, Capulin Volcano National Monument in northeastern New Mexico, and Bent’s Old Fort and Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Sites in southeastern Colorado. The Southern Plains Fire Group has active fuels program in most of the parks within the group and is principally responsible for a significant amount of the fuels treatment acreages in the Intermountian Region. There are two fire effects crews that the Fire Ecologist assists either directly or indirectly. The first of crew is the Chihuahuan Desert Fire Crew which serves the Southwest Texas Fire Group and the Permian Group. The Chihuahuan Desert Crew is funded for one subject-to-furlough GS-7 Lead Fire Effects Monitor (GS-7)(Zubia) for 18 pay periods and two GS-5 seasonals for 13 pay periods. However because neither the Southwest Texas or the Permian Fire Groups have a fuels specialist to plan the fuels projects, planning and compliance has fallen largely to the Lead Fire Effects Monitor or the Fire Ecologist or the FMO. The Southern Plains Fire Effect is funded similarly, however they benefit from having a fuels specialist, therefore the Lead can focus on fire effects activities which are significant. However, the crew is relatively new having been established in 2006, however the first led was there only for a year and half and the second lead is finishing up their second year. Thus the position was vacant for a year between leads. The second lead was brought on as a GS-6 and was not fully functionally as a GS-7. Because of the vacancy and the in experience of the new Lead the fire ecologist was carrying out many ofthe responsibilities of the Southern Plains Fire Group lead over the past 2 and half years. Up until July of this year the Fire Ecologist managed both Lead Fire Effects Monitors. The Southwest Texas Lead Fire Effects Monitor Zubia has formerly transitioned from lead fire effects to primarily fuels treatment planning, logistics and implementation beginning in March 2010 and supervised by the FMO with the fire effects operations in the Southwest Texa

Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2010 [Southwest Texas Fire Group, Permian Fire Group, Southern Plains Fire Group]

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