Incorporating a GIS Model of Ecological Need into Fire Management Planning

Keifer, MaryBeth; Caprio, Anthony; Lineback, Pat; Folger, Karen

Land managers are mandated to protect the ecological integrity and health of the lands they manage. Based on research identifying fire as a keystone natural process within the Sierra Nevada in California, restoring fire in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks has been an important management goal. A Geographic Information System (GIS) based “ecological need model” was developed to provide an index to rank areas in the parks based on the need to restore historic fire regimes. Inputs to the ecological need model included: (1) vegetation class; (2) historic (pre-Euroamerican settlement) fire return intervals for each vegetation class; and (3) fire perimeters from the known historic fire records (1921-present). Using these inputs, a derived index was calculated to quantify the departure of an area from its pre- Euroamerican settlement fire return interval. An index value greater than 0 indicates the number of historic fire return intervals that an area has missed. A negative number indicates that an area has burned within its historic fire return interval. The index values were divided into four categories of ecological need: low, moderate, high, and extreme. These categories were then mapped spatially across the parks using GIS. Fire Return Interval Departure (FRID) maps are updated annually as new fires (prescribed and wildland) occur. This model complements more traditional models based on fire hazard and ignition risk that are essential to sound fire management planning. The FRID model is a dynamic and valuable decision support tool that integrates ecological information to prioritize areas for initial treatment with prescribed fire, assist with scheduling successive burns, help provide economic accountability, and evaluate progress towards achieving landscape-level ecological goals.