FM-8. Use suitable tools for reducing hazardous fuels, including prescribed burning, wildland fire use, and mechanical methods. Methods can include the following:
chainsaws,
motorized equipment for crushing brush,
tractor and hand piling,
thinning and pruning, and
treatments selected on a site-specific case that are ecologically suitable and cost effective.
FM-9. In areas not suitable for fire, BLM will implement programs to reduce unwanted ignitions and emphasize prevention, detection, and rapid suppression response.
FM-10. In areas not suitable for fire where fuel loading is high, BLM will use biological, mechanical, or chemical treatments and some prescribed fire to maintain non-hazardous levels of fuels and meet resource objectives.
FM-11. In areas suitable for fire where fuel loading is high and current conditions constrain fire use, BLM will emphasize prevention and mitigation programs to reduce unwanted fire ignitions and use mechanical, biological, or chemical treatments to mitigate the fuel loadings and meet resource objectives.
FM-12. In areas suitable for fire where conditions allow, BLM will do the following:
allow naturally ignited wildland fire,
use prescribed fire and a combination of biological, mechanical, and chemical treatments to maintain nonhazardous levels of fuels,
reduce the hazardous effects of unplanned wildland fires, and
meet resource objectives.
FM-13. In areas suitable for fire, BLM will monitor existing air quality levels and weather conditions to determine which prescribed fires can be ignited and which, if any, must be delayed to ensure that air quality meets Federal and State standards. If air quality approaches unhealthy levels, BLM would delay igniting prescribed fires.
FM-14. To reduce human-caused fires, BLM will undertake education, enforcement, and administrative fire prevention mitigation measures. Education measures will include the following:
provide media information, including a signing program,
give the public information on the natural role of fire within local ecosystems, and
participate in fairs, parades, and public contacts.
FM-15. Enforcement staff will train employees interested in determining the cause of fires. Administration will include expanded prevention and education programs with cooperator agencies.
FM-16. Firefighter and public safety are the first priority in every fire management activity. Setting priorities among protecting human communities and community infrastructure, other property and improvements, and natural and cultural resources must be based on the following:
values to be protected,
human health and safety, and
costs of protection (BLM 2001b).
FM-17. For all fire management activities (wildfire suppression; appropriately managed wildfire use; prescribed fire; and mechanical, chemical, and biological vegetation treatments), conservation measures will be implemented as part of the proposed action to provide statewide consistency in reducing the effects of fire management on federally protected (threatened, endangered, proposed, and candidate) species.
FM-18. Conservation measures noted as “recommended” are discretionary for implementation but are recommended to help minimize effects to federally protected species. Incorporated here by reference are procedures within the Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations (Task Group 2004), including future updates, relevant to fire operations that may affect federally protected species or their habitat.
FM-19. During fire suppression, resource advisors may be designated to coordinate concerns on federally protected species and to serve as liaison between the field office manager and the incident commander and the incident management team. Resource advisors will also serve as field contact representatives responsible for coordinating with the USFWS. Resource advisors will have the needed information on federally protected species and habitats in the area and the available conservation measures for the species. They will be briefed on the intended suppression actions for the fire and will provide input on which conservation measures are suitable within the standard constraints of safety and operational procedures. The incident commander has the final decision making authority on implementation of conservation measures during fire suppression.
FM-20. Conflicts may occur in attempting to implement all conservation measures for every species potentially affected by a particular activity, because of the number of species within the action area for the proposed statewide land use plan amendment (BLM 2004); and the variety of fire suppression and proposed fire management activities. Implementing these conservation measures will depend on:
Conflicts could particularly arise from timing restrictions on fuel treatment if the ranges of several species with differing restrictions overlap. It could therefore, be impossible to effectively implement the activity. Resource advisors (in coordination with USFWS), fire management officers, incident commanders, and other resource specialists will need to coordinate to determine which conservation measures will be implemented during a particular activity. If conservation measures for a species cannot be implemented, BLM will be required to initiate Section 7 consultation with USFWS for that activity.
FM-21. BLM will update local fire management plans to include site-specific actions for managing wildfire and fuels in accordance with the new Federal fire policies, based on guidance provided in the decision records for statewide land use plan amendments (BLM 2004). These plans will be coordinated with USFWS and the AGFD to address site-specific concerns for federally protected species. These plans will incorporate the conservation measures included in this statewide land use plan amendment for federally protected species occurring within each fire management zone. BLM will consult with USFWS on these project-level plans, as needed.
FM-22. Categories A, B, C, and D, polygons are referenced in the 1998 Fire Management Plan (FMP). The FMP was updated in 2007 and has fire management units containing polygons based on the following:
vegetation communities,
fire regime condition classes, and
proximity to urban interface areas.
FM-23. Wildfires resulting from natural fire starts (lightning) from an adjoining ownership may be allowed to cross jurisdictional boundaries if the fire meets predetermined, prescription criteria, and the ownerships have an agreement.
FM-24. In wilderness areas, when suppression actions are required, minimum impact suppression tactics (MIST, Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations [Task Group 2004]) will be applied and coordinated with wilderness area management objectives and guidelines.
FM-25. To implement management actions in Areas of Critical Environmental Concern ( ACEC s), BLM will consider the desired conditions and management prescriptions for the specific ACEC in implementing fire management activities.
FM-26. BLM will continue to use prescribed fire and other methods to treat vegetation in the Weaver Mountains and foothills. The Weaver Mountain Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project was developed to treat hazardous fuel accumulations within an area encompassing 14,000 acres of public, State, and private lands roughly 17 miles north of Wickenburg. During prescribed burning, about 1,000 acres of chaparral will be treated annually over five to ten years to create mosaic patterns in the chaparral vegetation community. Project objectives include: