PFT and NFP Help

Application Help: Introduction
Map Viewer Please select from the menu on the left to get help on the application and information on the individual map layers. If your require additional assistance please e-mail ellile@usgs.gov at the USGS Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center. The National Fire Plan Maps and Proposed Field Treatment Sites website is an internet based mapping application that visually portrays the Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture land management agencies hazardous fuels program projects in relation to the wildland urban interface communities. These are communities that are within the vicinity of federal lands that are at high risk from wildland fire. The hazardous fuels program reduces the impacts of unwanted wildland fires on communities, natural resources, and cultural resources. Past disruptions of natural fire cycles, as well as other management practices, have resulted in wildfires of increasing intensity and severity. Treatment of hazardous fuel will help reduce the impacts of wildfires on communities and restore health to fire-adapted ecosystems. Under the National Fire Plan, the hazardous fuel treatment program has expanded significantly, with a greater focus on treatments intended to protect communities in the wildland urban interface. During FY2001, 2.25 million acres of federal land was treated to reduce hazardous fuels, including 775,880 acres in wildland urban interface areas. Of the 2.25 million acres treated, 197,148 were treated through Wildland Fire Use. Wildland Fire Use is the management of naturally ignited wildland fires to accomplish specific prestated resource management objectives in predefined geographic areas. Common Definitions for Fuel Treatment Terms Fuels Management: Management of wildland fuel complexes to achieve hazardous fuel reduction, to achieve and maintain ecosystem restoration, and to maintain ecosystem health and other resource benefits. Management includes strategic planning and site-specific and landscape-scale treatments designed to improve abilities to protect life and property, and to maintain or restore the sustainability of healthy ecosystems. Fuel management is accomplished by the application and integration of a variety of treatments that will minimize the probability and effects of large-scale, high-intensity fires. These treatments, a variety of fire and non-fire techniques, include, but are not limited to, mechanical, chemical, biological, and manual methods, and prescribed fire and wildland fire use. Both naturally occurring fuels and hazardous fuel accumulations resulting from resource management and land use activities must be addressed. Fuel Treatment: Any vegetation manipulation and/or removal/modification of wildland fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition, to reduce potential fire intensity and spread rates, to lessen potential damage and resistance to control, or to limit the spread and proliferation of invasive species and diseases. Fuels treatments achieve site-specific fire and resource management objectives under approved land use plans and with full compliance to NEPA and other regulatory statutes. Wildland Fuel: Combustible material that can be consumed by fire which includes naturally occurring live and dead vegetation, such as grass, leaves, ground litter, plants, shrubs and trees, and excessive buildups of these materials resulting from resource management and other land use activities, as well as from natural plant growth and succession. Hazard Fuel Reduction: Removal of excessive live or dead wildland fuel accumulations for the strict objective of reducing the potential for the occurrence of uncharacteristically intense wildland fire and increasing capabilities to protect life and property, including communities at risk and sensitive municipal watersheds; sensitive natural resources, including critical native plant communities and threatened and endangered species; and other socially important cultural resources. Ecosystem Restoration: The use and application of the full range of fuel treatments to promote plant community diversity and structure that are more resilient to disturbance, invasive species, and less likely to facilitate uncharacteristically intense wildland fires. Involves restoration of rangelands, short-interval fire-adapted plant communities, and long-interval fire-adapted plant communities. Short-interval fire-adapted plant communities: Those communities that depend on frequently occurring, low intensity surface fires to cycle nutrients, control pathogens, and maintain stand density and age class distributions in a healthy, resilient condition. Rapid fuel accumulation occurs in these communities in the absence of fire. Long-interval fire-adapted plant communities: Plant communities that have developed under an environment infrequent but high intensity or mixed severity fire occurrence. Fuels accumulate at slow but steady rates between fire events but are subject to dramatic changes following each high intensity fire event. Prescribed fire: The use or application of manager ignited fire to intentionally burn wildland fuels in either their natural or modified state under specified environmental conditions (e.g., weather and fuel moisture), confined to a predetermined area, and within a range of fire intensity and rate of spread that permits attainment of planned resource management objectives and is conducted in conformance with an approved burn plan. Synonym: controlled burn, prescribed burn. Wildland Fire Use: The management of naturally ignited wildland fires to accomplish specific prestated resource management objectives in predefined geographic areas.

Application Help: Introduction

Map Viewer

Please select from the menu on the left to get help on the application and information on the individual map layers.

If your require additional assistance please e-mail ellile@usgs.gov at the USGS Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center.

Urban Fire Image The National Fire Plan Maps and Proposed Field Treatment Sites website is an internet based mapping application that visually portrays the Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture land management agencies hazardous fuels program projects in relation to the wildland urban interface communities. These are communities that are within the vicinity of federal lands that are at high risk from wildland fire.

The hazardous fuels program reduces the impacts of unwanted wildland fires on communities, natural resources, and cultural resources. Past disruptions of natural fire cycles, as well as other management practices, have resulted in wildfires of increasing intensity and severity. Treatment of hazardous fuel will help reduce the impacts of wildfires on communities and restore health to fire-adapted ecosystems.

Under the National Fire Plan, the hazardous fuel treatment program has expanded significantly, with a greater focus on treatments intended to protect communities in the wildland urban interface. During FY2001, 2.25 million acres of federal land was treated to reduce hazardous fuels, including 775,880 acres in wildland urban interface areas. Of the 2.25 million acres treated, 197,148 were treated through Wildland Fire Use. Wildland Fire Use is the management of naturally ignited wildland fires to accomplish specific prestated resource management objectives in predefined geographic areas.

Common Definitions for Fuel Treatment Terms

Fuels Management: Management of wildland fuel complexes to achieve hazardous fuel reduction, to achieve and maintain ecosystem restoration, and to maintain ecosystem health and other resource benefits. Management includes strategic planning and site-specific and landscape-scale treatments designed to improve abilities to protect life and property, and to maintain or restore the sustainability of healthy ecosystems. Fuel management is accomplished by the application and integration of a variety of treatments that will minimize the probability and effects of large-scale, high-intensity fires. These treatments, a variety of fire and non-fire techniques, include, but are not limited to, mechanical, chemical, biological, and manual methods, and prescribed fire and wildland fire use. Both naturally occurring fuels and hazardous fuel accumulations resulting from resource management and land use activities must be addressed.

Fuel Treatment: Any vegetation manipulation and/or removal/modification of wildland fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition, to reduce potential fire intensity and spread rates, to lessen potential damage and resistance to control, or to limit the spread and proliferation of invasive species and diseases. Fuels treatments achieve site-specific fire and resource management objectives under approved land use plans and with full compliance to NEPA and other regulatory statutes.

Wildland Fuel: Combustible material that can be consumed by fire which includes naturally occurring live and dead vegetation, such as grass, leaves, ground litter, plants, shrubs and trees, and excessive buildups of these materials resulting from resource management and other land use activities, as well as from natural plant growth and succession.

Hazard Fuel Reduction: Removal of excessive live or dead wildland fuel accumulations for the strict objective of reducing the potential for the occurrence of uncharacteristically intense wildland fire and increasing capabilities to protect life and property, including communities at risk and sensitive municipal watersheds; sensitive natural resources, including critical native plant communities and threatened and endangered species; and other socially important cultural resources.

Ecosystem Restoration: The use and application of the full range of fuel treatments to promote plant community diversity and structure that are more resilient to disturbance, invasive species, and less likely to facilitate uncharacteristically intense wildland fires. Involves restoration of rangelands, short-interval fire-adapted plant communities, and long-interval fire-adapted plant communities.

Short-interval fire-adapted plant communities: Those communities that depend on frequently occurring, low intensity surface fires to cycle nutrients, control pathogens, and maintain stand density and age class distributions in a healthy, resilient condition. Rapid fuel accumulation occurs in these communities in the absence of fire.

Long-interval fire-adapted plant communities: Plant communities that have developed under an environment infrequent but high intensity or mixed severity fire occurrence. Fuels accumulate at slow but steady rates between fire events but are subject to dramatic changes following each high intensity fire event.

Prescribed fire: The use or application of manager ignited fire to intentionally burn wildland fuels in either their natural or modified state under specified environmental conditions (e.g., weather and fuel moisture), confined to a predetermined area, and within a range of fire intensity and rate of spread that permits attainment of planned resource management objectives and is conducted in conformance with an approved burn plan. Synonym: controlled burn, prescribed burn.

Wildland Fire Use: The management of naturally ignited wildland fires to accomplish specific prestated resource management objectives in predefined geographic areas.