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Across the country, prescribed fire managers face new and increasingly complex challenges that limit or threaten the use of prescribed fire. A diverse group of private, public, and non-governmental leaders collaborated to form a National Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils (NCPFC) on November 16, 2006 to provide a forum for exchange and efficiency through partnering the various successful state and local prescribed fire councils. As a nation, we share common prescribed fire issues including public safety, ecological stewardship, liability, public education, and air quality regulation. Networking existing state prescribed fire councils’ efforts together can prove instrumental in increasing communication, effectiveness of public education, participation in fire policy decisions, and representation on regional and national regulatory issues.
Since its formation, the NCPFC has strived for national participation and acceptance, which now includes twenty seven states, British Columbia, and Mexico, an increase over the five states with existing councils at that time. The NCPFC continues to achieve its primary goals of providing a forum to support prescribed fire councils across the U.S. and facilitate their formation, advocating the ecological imperative for prescribed fire, emphasizing prescribed fire’s benefits to public health/safety, and serving as an advocate and clearinghouse on regional and national levels. Possibly the greatest achievement to date has been the significant increase in communication between prescribed fire practitioners in various regions and ecosystem types.
We need to work together to protect the application of prescribed fire in the landscape. Within the next year, we plan to establish the organizational structure of the NCPFC, develop an inclusive Coalition website, gain input from all States on their needs, and hold our first NCPFC meeting. We look forward to working together in the future. For more NCPFC information, please contact mark.melvin@jonesctr.org and visit the Coalition website.
Guide to Smoke Management
Due to recent EPA revisions to the daily Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) Standards under the Clean Air Act, the National Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils has prepared a guide to identify current challenges that face both prescribed fire practitioners and air quality managers. The guide describes how they can best work together to make sure that healthy ecosystems along with public health and safety are protected now and for future generations and is intended to serve as a reference for Prescribed Fire Councils and their members to aid states in developing smoke management programs (SMP). An SMP establishes a basic framework of procedures and requirements for managing smoke from fires managed for resource benefits. The purposes of SMPs are to mitigate the nuisance and public safety hazards (e.g., on roadways and at airports) posed by smoke intrusions into populated areas; to prevent deterioration of air quality and National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) violations; and to address visibility impacts in mandatory Class I Federal areas.