NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, March 1, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-071 - Pacific Northwest Areas - Earthquake

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Washington yesterday morning 
had relatively little impact on NPS sites:

o       Columbia Cascades Support Office - The office, which is in 
        downtown Seattle, received minor damage from falling plaster. 
        Two employees received minor injuries from falling objects.  
        The building was evacuated and all employees were sent home 
        for the day.  The building will be evaluated for structural 
        damage as soon as possible.
o       Klondike Gold Rush NHP - The park, also located in downtown 
        Seattle, received minor damage, primarily from mortar falling 
        from the brickwork. There were no injuries to visitors or 
        employees. The historic buildings in the Pioneer Square area 
        seem to have sustained the most damage in the Seattle 
        environs.
o       Mount Rainier NP - The park reports that no visitors or 
        employees were injured. A preliminary damage assessment had 
        revealed no readily apparent damage to structures or 
        facilities. 

[Jay Wells, CR, PWR, 2/28]

[Additional reports pending and will appear after the conclusion of 
the fire conference. . .]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

Secretary of Interior Gale Norton will meet with fire directors at 
NIFC in Boise on Friday, March 2nd, to discuss implementation of the 
National Fire Plan.

Fire Management

The NPS national fire management conference - "People, Parks and Fire: 
Better Together" - resumed on Wednesday morning with a presentation on 
the National Fire Plan by Steve Botti and Dick Bahr of the Fire 
Management Program Center and Paul Menard from Olympic NP. 

Botti began with a review of the increase in funding appropriated by 
Congress for FY 2001 for fire management. He said that the increase 
represented a "major victory" for the fire program, but that it came 
at a cost - the destruction of property and resources that occurred 
last summer throughout the West and the loss of credibility that the 
program suffered.

He said that there are four documents that are necessary reading in 
this arena - last year's report to the secretaries of the Department 
of Interior and Department of Agriculture on the fires of 2000, the 
budget justifications submitted in support of the administration's 
budget request, the Congressional conference report on the 2001 
appropriations bill for Interior and related agencies, and, above all, 
the action and financial plan for implementation of the National Fire 
Plan. The latter spelled out exactly how the bureaus plan to spend the 
funding received.

Botti listed the six main goals found in these four documents:

o       Restoration of fire-adapted ecosystems.
o       Diminishing the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
o       Development of measurable goals and objectives so Congress can 
        see exactly what has been accomplished.
o       Increasing accountability.
o       Restoration of fire-damaged landscapes.
o       Establishment of a collaborative process with the states for 
        attaining program ends.

Congress, he said, has told the firefighting agencies not to continue 
with "business as usual." Although they want DOI and DOA to work 
together, they don't want to see a new bureaucracy created. They also 
directed that the agencies work with Western governors to attain 
program goals, that the compliance process be streamlined (but not 
eliminated), and that concerted efforts be made to target "communities 
at risk."

In order to attain these objectives, the NPS has so far:

o       Increased readiness by bringing crews up to standards, adding 
        firefighters, extending park fire seasons, and focusing on 
        parks that have not been able to meet initial attack 
        objectives.
o       Created (so far) 170 new permanent, full-time, STF positions.
o       Hired GIS specialists, ecologists and scientists in order to 
        enhance the Service's ability to look at long-term 
        consequences and thereby increase agency accountability.
o       Developed a new policy on rehabilitation.
o       Dedicated $1.5 million to rural fire assistance.

Dick Bahr followed with a review of fuels management projects and 
funding. Funding for fuels management has increased by 170% to $35 
million this fiscal year. The NPS solicited project proposals from the 
field and received 243 for FY 2001. Bahr emphasized that all of these 
projects must be completed this year. The funding has just been 
released to the NPS and will be allocated to parks in the very near 
future. 

Funding for all these projects - whether fuels management, prescribed 
fire, or wildland urban interface projects - will be tracked in one 
location and will be web-based. The NPS and other agencies will have 
to produce a map for Congress in the fall showing all projects 
completed in detail, with separate maps for each of the 50 states. 

Paul Menard, who has been overseeing the work force planning group, 
talked about staffing, outreach and employee development initiatives. 

The staffing project, headed by team leader Penni Sandoval, has been 
working on a number of projects:

o       Standard PD's are being developed, which should facilitate the 
        hiring process.
o       The team is running continuous open announcements and 
        providing assistance in hiring for any fire vacancy. Their 
        objective is to turn around certs within 48 hours after a 
        vacancy announcement has closed.
o       Efforts are being made to hire a diverse array of employees.

The outreach project is under team leader Chris Niewold. A 
contractor - Employment Network, Inc. - is being utilized to assist 
NPS staff. Efforts include:

o       Attending job fairs.
o       Developing an S-130/190 pilot program that can be given at 
        colleges.
o       Advertising fire position openings.
o       Developing promotional products.
o       Conducting a "targeted outreach" effort to attract new 
        employees.

Bill Adams of the FMPC is the team leader for the employee development 
project, which is being handled by the center.

DOI Fire Strategy

Tim Sexton gave an overview of the Department of Interior's fire 
strategy. 

The Forest Service was the first to develop a fire strategy; DOI 
agencies began a similar effort last June, but shelved it during the 
fire season. Work resumed in January. The strategy, which follows the 
USFS format, focuses on "integrating fire and resource management." 
The objectives are to:

o       Improve public and firefighter safety.
o       Protect, maintain, and restore ecological conditions.
o       Reduce the risk of wildland fire to communities through 
        collaborative processes.
o       Reduce losses and maintain and enhance opportunities related 
        to traditional and subsistence uses of public lands by local 
        communities and individuals.
o       Maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of fire suppression 
        and emergency rehabilitation.
o       Increase collaboration with other organizations.
o       Enhance the integration and cohesion of fire and resource 
        management programs and initiatives.

The plan is nearing completion and should be out by this summer.

Interdisciplinary Fire Management

A panel discussion was held on the integration and involvement of fire 
management with other disciplines. Speakers were Craig Axtell, 
division chief in natural resources in WASO; Tim Sexton, fire 
ecologist; A. Trinkle Jones, archeologist at the Western Archeological 
and Conservation Center; Judy Knuth Foltz, assistant chief of 
operations in interpretation, Yellowstone NP; and Randy Jones, 
superintendent at Rocky Mountain NP. Peggy O'Dell, associate manager 
for client services at HFC, was the moderator.

The speakers all strongly emphasized the importance of fire managers 
working closely with other disciplines in order to attain fire program 
goals. Among the points made were the following:

o       Fire management is becoming increasingly complex and is under 
        increasing media, political and interest group attention. 
        Liability is also increasing. Fire managers "MUST communicate 
        and educate" managers and other park staff.
o       Cultural compliance should be done ahead of time and not when 
        a fire occurs. Efforts are underway to streamline the 106 
        review process via programmatic agreements, thereby 
        significantly diminishing the time needed for review and 
        approval of projects.
o       Resource managers are becoming aware that fire is "one of the 
        most invasive and manipulative activities (both for better and 
        for worse) to affect park resources," so it's imperative that 
        resource managers work with fire managers. Resource managers 
        want fire management to succeed because it's so important to 
        natural processes.
o       Resource managers should not be perceived as "compliance 
        slugs." Fire managers need to get them involved cooperatively 
        and early in the planning process.
o       Fire managers need to avoid jargon and describe fire 
        management projects in clear terms to colleagues.
o       Interpreters can be highly effective in both community 
        outreach and visitor education efforts, but they are dependent 
        on information from the park's fire team. A "marriage" of the 
        two communities is vital.
o       Efforts need to be made to reach and educate outside entities, 
        even though they may initially be hostile to fire program 
        objectives. Dealing with them can be like working with 
        magnets - turn them one way and they repel, turn them the 
        other way and they attract.

Red Card Training

The changing nature of tracking fire personnel training and 
qualifications generated lively discussion at an afternoon session led 
by Merrie Johnson from the Fire Program Management Center.

Johnson emphasized the importance of regularly updating individual 
records, including the new capability of entering the required annual 
refresher training.

The incident qualification and certification system (IQCS) has 
recently been updated to reflect the latest editions of the Wildland 
and Prescribed Fire Qualification System Guide (310-1) and National 
Mobilization Guide. The new guide eliminated some positions, including 
many that were once listed in both wildland and prescribed fire.  
However, a change soon to take effect in the IQCS computer system will 
allow users to track the type of incident on which a given position is 
performed.  Also under consideration is a means to keep track of 
records for personnel, such as AD hires and retirees. 

Because of all the recent changes, Johnson recommends that each park 
regularly download, print out and review the latest copies of 
appendices A, B, C and D prior to updating individual records.

Under development is a new red card system that will be used by all 
Department of Interior agencies and by the Forest Service. Johnson 
expects the new program to go into beta testing in 18 months and to go 
online in two years.

Prevention, Education and FIREWISE

Pete Martin of BLM presented two sessions on prevention, education and 
FIREWISE programs. The sessions provided participants with an overview 
of current national fire prevention/education efforts.

Fire prevention education teams (FPETs), which were started 
approximately five years ago, consist of trained professionals 
designed to assist agencies and communities during severe fire 
situations. Parks may choose to use FPETs to reduce arson fires, teach 
homeowners about personal responsibility in a wildland-urban 
interface, coordinate fire restrictions, assist a fire use team, etc. 
An FPET can:

o       Develop an action plan (either within an assignment or as the 
        only assignment).
o       Mitigate losses from wildland fire.
o       Develop materials to meet objectives of an incident.
o       Provide interviews with the media.
o       Conduct training for local organizations and/or the public.
o       Create exhibits for use in visitor centers or community 
        events.
o       Attend town meetings.
o       Provide communities with resources for future use.

National FPET members have attended specific training. Local teams may 
also be available in your area. Local team members usually have not 
attended official FPET training, but may still provide valuable 
assistance. A web site for the FPET program will be available in the 
near future. 

The second half of the presentation focused on another national 
program, FIREWISE. The FIREWISE vision is that "wildland fires can 
occur in the future without loss of homes" by breaking the vicious 
cycle of building, burning, and rebuilding. This vision can become a 
reality by teaching community leaders and professionals about personal 
responsibility in the wildland-urban interface. FIREWISE aims to 
change perspectives from "firefighter as savior and homeowner as 
victim" to "firefighter and homeowners as partners."  Upcoming 
training sessions will be held in April in Austin, Teas, and in June 
in Denver, Colorado. For more information, please see: 
www.firewise.org/communities. 

The presentation ended with a video entitled "Get In the Zone" which 
was created by the Bend, Oregon Fire Department and SAFECO 
Corporation. This entertaining, action-packed, non-traditional video 
lists ten tips for preventing home loss in the wildland- urban 
interface.  For more information about this video, visit 
www.firefree.org.

For more information, about either of the programs, please contact 
Roberta D'Amico at 208-387-5239.

Fire and Social Science

Amanda Kaplan, fire program assistant at the Columbia Cascade SO, 
presented an overview and nuts-and-bolts session on an interagency 
social science plan to assist federal fire management. In addition to 
affecting resources, fire affects people in many ways - both the 
external community and those within the fire organization.  
Understanding these human dimensions to fire and having solid research 
helps managers to make sound land management decisions. The plan is 
supported by all NIFC agencies.

There are three key elements to the plan:

o       a review of social science literature on the human dimensions 
        of fire management;
o       an analysis of social science needs as expressed in the 
        existing policies and regulations of participating agencies; 
        and
o       a needs assessment based on input from representatives of 
        three important end-users of the proposed research - the 
        relevant social science community, fire and resource managers  
        in the participating agencies, and local communities, 
        governments, and non-government organizations impacted by 
        federal fire management.

Of these three key areas, the needs assessment is the most critical. 
It will provide the basis for the final plan, which is to be completed 
in July. There will be interactive workshops for federal and 
non-federal stakeholders in various cities throughout the country. An 
open letter is also to be mailed soon, and a website is under 
construction that will provide feedback mechanisms. The website will 
be linked through the NIFC website (www.nifc.gov). Researchers will 
develop their agenda from information culled from the workshops and 
other feedback methods. The final part of the session was similar to 
the upcoming interactive workshops.  Attendees voiced questions that 
they would like to see on a research agenda which will be incorporated 
into questions provided in future workshops.

For more information or if you would like to review the draft plan, 
please contact Amanda Kaplan at 206-220-4150 or Amanda_Kaplan@nps.gov.

Park Fires

Appomattox Court House NHP (VA) - A rotary mower struck a rock while 
mowing park fields leased as pastures on February 20th, starting a 
small wildfire that burned about 1.7 acres of meadow. Park staff and 
the local fire department responded promptly and extinguished the fire 
within half an hour. No natural or cultural resources were damaged

[Debee Schwarz, NPS Fire Information, WASO, 2/28; Roberta D'Amico, 
Dana Dierkes, Tina Boehle, Al Nash and Bill Halainen, NPS Fire 
Management Conference, 2/28; Kristina Heister, APCO, 2/28]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Management Policies - The new edition of Management Policies have been 
printed and is now being distributed. The printer is sending 
quantities directly to all parks with 35 or more FTE. Superintendents 
of those parks should decide how best to distribute the copies among 
their staff. Regional offices are being sent sufficient quantities to 
cover their office needs and to distribute as they see fit to parks 
with fewer than 35 FTE. If you want a copy and have not received one 
through one of the above sources within a reasonable period of time, 
send an email to Chick Fagan. Copies may also be purchased for $8 
through Eastern National. [Chick Fagan, Policy Office, WASO]

MEMORANDA

Submission pending.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Submission pending.

                            *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed 
by park, office and/or regional cc:Mail hub coordinators.  Please 
address requests pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your 
servicing hub coordinator.  The Morning Report is also available on 
the web at http://www.nps.gov/morningreport

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

                             --- ### ---