October 2005

ncreasing the use of prescribed fire HUACHUCA AREA FIRE PARTNERS and Wildland Fire Use in southeastern „ Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch, „ State Land Department Arizona has been a challenge. Recent National Audubon Society „ Babocomari Ranch I „ „ Coronado National Memorial, wildfires have made local communities „ Fort Huachuca, U.S. Army uneasy; numerous threatened and endan- „ San Pedro Riparian National „ San Rafael Ranch Conservation Area, BLM „ San Rafael Ranch State Park gered species, including the Mexican „ The Nature Conservancy spotted owl, reside in the Huachuca For more information about the partnership Mountains and can be adversely affected or the plan, contact Brooke Gebow at by fire; and there is an uncertain funding [email protected] or 520-803-7953. climate. Significant international border issues include hundreds of thousands of Brooke Gebow, Southeastern Arizona ly beyond the purview of single entities. undocumented immigrants who pass Preserves Manager for The Nature “As we worked over the last three years, FIRE LEARNING NETWORK A cooperative through this region each year. These Conservancy, coordinated development of we all became increasingly convinced of project of The Nature Conservancy, the USDA groups represent a source of fires, and Forest Service, and the Dept. of the Interior, the the plan. This plan follows no particular the need for, but also the feasibility of, network was created in 2002 to catalyze efforts their safety can be placed at risk during agency guidelines or template but rather is working cooperatively on a large scale,” to reduce hazardous fuels across the country. prescribed fire activities. a collection of material judged important said Gebow. For example, one of the proj- Part of the larger joint program Restoring Fire- to member partners. “We didn’t let the dif- ects the group hopes to implement is a Adapted Ecosystems that includes fire education This story is about a group of agencies ferences in priorities and procedures 50,000-acre burn in the Canelo Hills and training components, the network operates and individuals—the Huachuca Area at both local and national levels to overcome across the various parties keep us from portion of the Coronado National Forest. barriers to implementing ecologically appropriate Fire Partners—who persevered with putting this plan together,” Gebow said. fuels reduction and restoration projects. minimal funding to develop a plan that The fire plan is undergoing external http://tncfire.org/usfln will help manage fire activities across The document includes the results of review and is expected to be final by the jurisdictional boundaries and otherwise ecological mapping across jurisdictional end of October 2005. The Huachuca THE NATURE CONSERVANCY FIRE pave the way for the return of regular fire boundaries; details about planned, large- project has been involved in the Fire INITIATIVE This 17-person team is working to assess, abate and prevent fire-related threats to to a roughly 500,000-acre landscape. scale treatments; analysis of effects of Learning Network since 2002. biodiversity conservation around the world. In the projects on listed species and cultural U.S., the Initiative is working with a variety of resources; and sections on fire opera- GET INVOLVED! partners to promote ecologically appropriate fire tions, invasive species, monitoring and management, develop and implement science- If you’re interested in participating in a regional or national level meeting, or just learning more: based planning tools and monitoring techniques, border-related considerations. and further fire education and training efforts. „ Browse the FLN Web site http://nature.org/fire The partners view the plan not as a guide http://tncfire.org/usfln to operations but as a demonstration of „ Join and contribute to the FLN listserv collaboration in order to attract support http://tncfire.org/training_listservs for needed activities. Sections of the plan „ Contact TNC or agency leads: Members of the Huachuca Area Fire Partners can serve as the basis for programmatic Lynn Decker, The Nature Conservancy Fire review maps during a field trip. (From left to right: compliance documents for the projects in Initiative [email protected]; 801-320-0524 Dave Gori, Barbara Alberti, Sherry Tune, and Jean the plan. The plan also emphasizes Anne Jeffery, Dept. of the Interior Calhoun.) [email protected]; 208-387-5458 —Photo by Brooke Gebow landscape-scale priorities that are general- Sarah Robertson, US Forest Service [email protected]; 208-387-5222