Wildland Fire Management Plan for Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho

Apel, John

This plan outlines in as detailed a manner as possible those actions that will be taken by Craters of the Moon National Monument in meeting the fire management goals for the area. This meets the requirement in Director's Order-18 (DO-18) that all park units with vegetation capable of sustaining fire develop a Fire Management Plan. Until a fire management plan is approved, parks must aggressively suppress all wildland fires, taking into account the resources to be protected and firefighter and public safety. Parks lacking an approved fire management plan may not use resource benefits as a primary consideration influencing selection of a suppression strategy, but they must consider the resource impacts of suppression alternatives in their decision. Development of an approved fire management plan will facilitate the goal of managing wildland fires in portions of Craters of the Moon National Monument for resource benefits. As a secondary benefit the plan is intended to reduce suppression costs without compromising public or firefighter safety. The General Management Plan and the Natural Resources Component of the Resource Management Plan (RMP) for Craters of the Moon National Monument address the issue of fire management in a general manner. This specific action plan implements fire related management actions from the RMP.