2.3.3.2. Land Use Allocations

BLM-administered lands will be assigned to one of the following two land use allocations for fire management.

FM-6. Allocation One - Wildland Fire Use: Areas suitable for wildland fire use for resource management benefit. In these areas, where wildland fire is desired, few or no constraints exist on its use, and conditions are suitable, unplanned and planned wildfire may be used to achieve desired objectives such as the following:

to improve vegetation, wildlife habitat, or watershed conditions,
to maintain non-hazardous levels of fuels,
to reduce the hazardous effects of unplanned wildland fires, and
to meet resource objectives.

Where fuel loading is high but conditions are not initially suitable for wildland fire, fuel loads are reduced by mechanical, chemical, or biological means to reduce hazardous fuel levels and meet resource objectives (includes WUI areas).

FM-7. Allocation Two - Non Wildland Fire Use: Areas not suitable for wildland fire use for resource benefit. This allocation includes areas such as the following, where mitigation and suppression are required to prevent direct threats to life or property:

areas where fire historically never played a large role in developing and maintaining the ecosystem,
areas where intervals between fires were very long, and
areas (including some WUI areas) where an unplanned ignition could harm the ecosystem unless some form of mitigation is applied.

Mitigation may include mechanical, biological, chemical, or prescribed fire means to maintain non-hazardous levels of fuels, reduce the hazardous effects of unplanned wildland fires, and meet resource objectives.

The allocation of lands is based on the DFC of vegetation communities, ecological conditions, and ecological risks. The allocation of lands is determined by contrasting current and historical conditions and ecological risks of any changes (Map 7 ). The condition class concept helps describe changes in key ecosystem components such as species composition, structural stage, stand age, canopy closure, and fuel loadings. BLM fire management plans will include the two allocations and identify areas for including fire use and mechanical, biological, or chemical means to:

maintain non-hazardous levels of fuels,
reduce the hazardous effects of unplanned wildland fires, and
meet resource objectives.

Fire management plans will also determine which areas will be excluded from fire (through fire suppression) and which will receive chemical, mechanical, or biological treatments.