BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK TEXAS WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN June 2005 Prepared by BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK With assistance from INTERMOUNTAIN REGIONAL OFFICE Denver, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK Prepared By: / 1 &@I[ l- / Approved By: I ;- ./)Cg(h'LV 1-( vNbT.h \) TABLE OF CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1 A. PURPOSE AND NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THIS FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN .........1 B. COLLABORATION...............................................................................................................................2 C. NATIONAL FIRE MANAGEMENT GOALS................................................................................... 3 D. RELATIONSHIP TO ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE............................................................4 E. AUTHORITIES ..................................................................................................................................... 5 II RELATIONSHIP OF LAND MANAGEMENT .............................................................7 PLANNING TO FIRE POLICY..................................................................................7 A. NPS MANAGEMENT POLICIES CONCERNING WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT.......7 B. ENABLING LEGISLATION OF BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK.................................................8 C. PARK-WIDE DESIRED CONDITIONS..........................................................................................8 AS THEY PERTAIN TO FIRE MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES............................................................8 D. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN OBJECTIVES.......................................................................9 AS THEY PERTAIN TO FIRE MANAGEMENT ......................................................................................9 E. MEETING GMP AND RMP OBJECTIVES......................................................................................9 III WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ................................................... 11 A. GENERAL MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS ....................................................................... 11 B. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT GOALS .................................................................................. 11 C. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT OPTIONS............................................................................ 14 D. DESCRIPTION OF WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ..................................15 BY FIRE MANAGEMENT UNIT................................................................................................................15 IV WILDLAND FIREMANAGEMENT PROGRAM COMPONENTS .................................... 51 A. GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES...........................................................................51 B. WILDLAND FIRE SUPPRESSION .................................................................................................51 C. WILDLAND FIRE USE..................................................................................................................81 V ORGANIZATION AND BUDGETARY PARAMETERS .............................................. 111 A. FIRE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE........................................................ 111 VI MONITORING AND EVALUATION................................................................... 123 VII FIRE RESEARCH ........................................................................................ 127 VIII PUBLIC SAFETY........................................................................................ 131 A. PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES AND CONCERNS ............................................................................ 131 B. PUBLIC SAFETY MITIGATION MEASURES.............................................................................132 IX PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION........................................................ 133 A. PUBLIC INFORMATION CAPABILITY........................................................................................133 X PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE RESOURCES........................................................ 137 A. ARCHEOLOGICAL/CULTURAL/HISTORIC RESOURCES ....................................................137 B. PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE NATURAL RESOURCES ...................................................... 140 C. MODERN INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENTS .......................................................... 141 XI FIRE CRITIQUES AND ANNUAL PLAN REVIEW ................................................. 143 A. FIRE REVIEW ...................................................................................................................................143 B. ANNUAL FIRE SUMMARY REPORT........................................................................................143 XII CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.......................................................... 145 A. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN, AGENCIES CONSULTED................................. 146 B. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN, PERSONS CONSULTED................................... 146 C. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN PREPARATION..................................................... 146 i APPENDICES.................................................................................................. 149 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure I–1 Park Location and Neighbors.............................................................................................. 3 Figure III–1 Comprehensive Fire Management Map.......................................................................17 Figure III–2 Vegetation Map....................................................................................................................20 Figure III–3 Burned area for each fire year from 1948 to 2003.............................................. 33 Figure IV–1 Fuel Models ............................................................................................................................ 53 Figure IV–2 Ten-Day Moving Average Burning Index ...................................................................62 Figure IV–3 Proposed Wilderness Map ............................................................................................... 75 Figure IV–4: Decision Tree for Initial Action on Ignitions............................................................85 Figure V–1 Organization Chart for Fire Management Program ................................................. 112 LIST OF TABLES Table III-1 Goals and Objectives of the Big Bend Fire Management Plan..............................12 Table III-2 Fire from 1946 - 2004 by Size Class, Month, and Ignition Source ..................30 Table III-3 Probability of occurrence for total burned area .......................................................34 Table III-4 Temperature and Precipitation Panther Junction .................................................... 37 Table IV-1 Fire Prevention Tasks...........................................................................................................54 Table IV-2 Annual Training Calendar ................................................................................................... 57 Table IV-3 Annual Readiness Activities Calendar. .........................................................................59 Table IV-4 Step-up Plan for Big Bend National Park.....................................................................63 Table IV-5 Fire Program Resource and Response Times..............................................................70 Table IV-6 Lightning Ignitions: 1980-2005......................................................................................82 Table IV-7 Prescriptions...........................................................................................................................83 Table IV-8 Wildland Fire Use Decision Criteria................................................................................86 Table IV-9: WFIP Completion Timeframes ...................................................................................... 90 Table IV-10 Prescribed Burn Program 1996-2005. ..................................................................... 102 iii I INTRODUCTION A. PURPOSE AND NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THIS FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN The purpose is to implement an improved and updated Wildland Fire Management Plan (FMP) for Big Bend National Park. The fire management plan provides a framework for making fire-related decisions and serves as an operations manual. Updating the 1994 plan allows changes in fire policy, fire behavior knowledge, prescribed burn results, and revisions in NPS policies to be implemented in practice. By incorporating new information about ecology, fire effects and firefighting techniques, the FMP will improve the protection of people, property, and resources within the park. Current resource managers acknowledge three major challenges in managing vegetation at the park: greatly increased fuels in forest and some woodlands increasing risk from high-severity fire; invasion of fire-adapted nonnative plant species which threaten to displace native species primarily along the riparian corridor and drainages; and, altered fire patterns from suppression and grazing of livestock. Prioritizing and meeting these challenges requires a significant shift in management direction for training, funding, and support of project monitoring and evaluation, and