2015 Aviation Update Hood River, OR April 2015 Dave Glose USFS AK/PNW Helicopter Program Manager Office: Cell:

AK/PNW Helicopter Program Dave Glose – Helicopter Program Mgr. – / cell Kris Schmidt – Helicopter Operations Specialist – / cell Eric Scholl – Asst. Helicopter Operations Specialist – / cell Jim Lucas – Helicopter Inspector Pilot – / cell Gil Howell – Helicopter Inspector Pilot – / cell

AK/PNW Helicopter Program Current Program Emphasis: Helicopter Contract TEB & Awards – EU/CWN Short-Haul Program Activation Rappel Training/Certifications/Oversight Cooperator Aircraft Approvals – States/Nat’l Guard Pilot Evaluations/Carding - EU/CWN/Cooperators Helicopter Insp./Carding – EU/CWN/Cooperators NE OR Base Consolidation Helicopter Fleet – Futuring/Needs

Helicopter Program Emergency Helicopter Extraction (Short-Haul)

Helicopter Program Emergency Helicopter Extraction (Short-Haul) The Forest Service is working to activate two programs in 2015 – One each in R6 and R4 National Emergency Medevac SH Working Team and National SH Ops Group are developing process and standards for a National Emergency Medevac SH Program National Short Haul Specialist position temporarily established

Helicopter Program Emergency Helicopter Extraction (Short-Haul) Current recommendation is to have 10-person modules with at least 3 EMTB’s per crew Will utilize high performance Type 3 helicopters Aircraft and crews’ primary mission will continue to be IA

Helicopter Program Emergency Helicopter Extraction (Short-Haul) Progress to Date: Activation and QA process and standards have been developed Draft Operations Guide has been completed Programmatic Risk Assessment completed and safety mitigations are being established R6 and R4 Programs have/will be assessed prior to approval for operational activities

Helicopter Program Emergency Helicopter Extraction (Short-Haul) Progress to Date: Equipment systems have been modified to address initial issues Pilot evaluation standards have been refined Training dates and venues have been established for 2015

Helicopter Program Emergency Helicopter Extraction (Short-Haul) Training dates and venues: April 27-May 1: Pilot Certifications and Train-the- Trainer Session – Missoula, MT May 18-22: Short Haul Crew Training – Missoula, MT

Helicopter Program Emergency Helicopter Extraction (Short-Haul) What is left to complete: Pilot Evals and Certifications Training Final Approval by Deputy Chief Future: Expansion and scale of the program will be predicated on need – anticipate two new bases each year thru 2017

Helicopter Program Emergency Helicopter Extraction

AK/PNW Helicopter Assets

2015 AK/PNW Helicopter Assets R6 PNW - Exclusive Use – 5 T1 Nat’l LFS Helicopters – 6 T2 Rappel Helicopters – 4 T3 Helicopters (1 Short Haul) R6 PNW - CWN T3 – Recently Awarded – Approx. 46 aircraft R10 Alaska - Exclusive Use – 1 T3 Helicopter with Vessel – AFSL - FIA R10 Alaska CWN T3 – Recently Awarded – Approx. 58 aircraft

2015 AK/PNW Helicopter Assets BLM – Exclusive Use – 1 T2 Standard Helicopter (Lakeview) – 1 T2 Restricted Helicopters (Burns) – 2 T3 Helicopters (Vale and Burns) NPS – Exclusive Use – 1 T3 Helicopter – Mt. Rainier NP Short Haul Capable

2015 AK/PNW Helicopter Assets WA Dept. Of Natural Resources (WADNR) – 8 UH-1H T2 Aircraft 5 staffed at a minimum Potential to have 7 total in service and staffed if the need arises – Additional Program News A request through Legislation to staff 6 aircraft full time has been proposed Proposal has been made to increase the number of Helitack personnel

2015 AK/PNW Helicopter Assets Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) – Tanker 66 – Not Renewed Replaced with two T2 Helicopters, three SEATS – Total EU/Owned Aircraft – Twenty Nine (29) 7 Severity T2 Helicopters 3 District T2 Helicopters 1 Severity T3 Helicopters 3 District T3 Helicopters 2 District ATGS/Detection Platforms 2 Severity ATGS/Detection Platforms 5 SEATs 1 Severity LAT 5 State/Association Owned ATGS/Detection – CWN Aircraft - Numerous

2015 AK/PNW Helicopter Assets

2015 Nat’l Helicopter Assets Program Number of EXU CWN2014 Total Number of Aircraft Type 1 (Helicopters) T1 Helicopters Type 2 (Helicopters) T2 Helicopters Type 2 Std. (Helicopter Night Flying) 101 T2 Night Helicopter Total67 EXU59 CWN126 Total Helicopters

2015 Rappel Ops Rappel Training Schedule Veteran Recertification #1 – John Day, April Veteran Recertification #2 – Salmon, ID, May Initial Rappeller Training – Salmon, ID, June 1-8

2015 Rappel Aircraft Availability Wenatchee: May 14 – Sept 10 John Day: May 15 – Sept 11 La Grande: May 22 – Sept 18 Sled Springs: June 3 – Sept 30 Prineville: June 4 – Oct 1 Siskiyou: June 4 – Oct 1

Cooperator Aviation Assets

Cooperator Aviation Assets – National Guard –

Cooperator Aviation Assets National Guard Aircraft and Pilots: National Guard pilots receive annual orientation and safety briefing from USFS or DOI Helicopter Inspector Pilots Pilots must meet minimum readiness level and training standards in order to perform fire missions Aircraft Inspections are waived at this time but must meet minimum equipment standards in accordance with agreements with States Operational standards are defined in State Agreements (e.g., OPlan Smokey) Cooperator Letter of Approval issued for NG aircraft and pilots

Cooperator Aviation Assets – National Guard – Oregon Army National Guard: Pendleton Chinook Unit – CH-47’s – likely only 1 available for Firefighting in 2015 Salem Blackhawk Unit – UH-60’s – will have 2-3 available in 2015 Washington Army National Guard: JBLM Chinook Unit – CH-47’s – likely none available in 2015 JBLM Blackhawk Unit – UH-60’s – likely 2 available, maybe more

Cooperator Aviation Assets What are Cooperator Aircraft? Aircraft that are owned, contracted, or operated by a cooperating agency What is a Cooperating Agency? A state or local government (e.g., county), military, or other foreign federal agency What are Government Aircraft? Any aircraft owned, leased, contracted, rented, or chartered, and operated by a Federal Government agency

Cooperator Aviation Assets FS/DOI Policy: Use Government Aircraft (federally owned, contracted, leased, etc.) to accomplish aviation mission flights Promote maximum utilization of FS/DOI aircraft as the first source of aviation services, when available and cost effective Cooperator Aircraft may be used on federal incidents if approved by letter and when FS/DOI or other Government Aircraft are not readily available

Cooperator Aviation Assets Cooperator Aircraft offered for use on Federal incident are subject to the same standards as FS owned and contracted aircraft – verified thru equipment inspections and pilot evaluations in accordance with NASF Cooperator Fire Standards Cooperator Aircraft that have Federal Contracts and are carded to those contract requirements need no further inspections – Approval Letter is still necessary in order to provide services on federal incidents

Cooperator Aviation Assets Operational Requirements: Many standards and policies regarding the use of aircraft are similar between Agencies and States – when differences exist, the policy standards of the agency receiving the services (agency that ordered and pays) apply: – FSM 5700/DOI DM – All aspect of the IHOG – Other Operational Guides and direction as applicable – Aviation Personnel must meet minimum qualification standards for the positions (PMS 310-1)

NE OR Rappel Base Consolidation Decisions: May 30, 2014 – From the Value Analysis Team recommendation, the RF and two Forest Supervisors supported the consolidation of the two crews to La Grande March 19, 2015 – RF decided the Wallowa-Whitman NF will have administrative oversight of the consolidated crew

NE OR Rappel Base Consolidation Consolidation Efforts: Both Forests, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman will continue to work towards a successful consolidation Civil Rights Impact Analysis (CRIA) – ongoing, led by WWF Current facility lease in La Grande runs thru March 2016 Lease/Construction for new facility – Procurement Phase – Developing plan to mitigate lease expiration impacts Will hire a GS-11 Airbase Mgr. Fall 2015 – Both Sled and Blue Mtn. supervised by Airbase Mgr. starting in CY 2016 Goal – Crews to consolidate into one crew in La Grande - Fall 2016

Cooperator Aviation Assets Approval Process: Requests for approval of aircraft made to the Asst. Fire Director, Aviation (FS RAO) Requests will be considered but only accepted based upon local interagency value Target a 30-day time period to accomplish inspections and issue an Approval Letter Letters are jointly issued by FS and OAS/DOI

Cooperator Aviation Assets Clarification on Federal Use of Aircraft: Can a “Carded” aircraft used by a Cooperator be used on Federal lands? Carry FS or DOI employees? – Depends … – When an aircraft is working for a Cooperator under an agreement other than a federal contract, the aircraft is not a Govt. Aircraft and may not operate on federal lands nor carry FS or DOI employees unless authorized by a Cooperator Letter of Approval issued by FS and/or OAS/DOI

Cooperator Aviation Assets Clarification on Federal Use of Aircraft: To determine whether an aircraft is a Govt. or Cooperator Aircraft, identify: – Procurement Document working under (CWN, EU or Cooperator Agreement) OR – Ownership (Federal, State, or Local Government)

Cooperator Aviation Assets May 14, 2014: R6 Interagency Aviation IB describes the occurrence of federal use and carriage of federal employees on a Cooperator aircraft that was carded but not approved by letter to operate on federal lands or carry federal employees

Aviation Safety and Assistance Team (ASAT) ASAT Team is normally delegated authorities by letter from the PNW Aviation Working Team and directed to work thru IMT’s and local/agency aviation personnel

Aviation Safety and Assistance Team (ASAT) The Team Purpose and Objectives: 1.Enhance safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of aviation operations on the Field Units assigned 2.Provide technical assistance to aircraft managers, flight crews, and Unit/Incident Management Team personnel 3.Provide assistance to unit and aviation managers, flight crews, and incident management teams for increasing, ongoing, or declining incident aviation activity

Aviation Safety and Assistance Team (ASAT) The Team minimally comprised of: Aviation Manager Helicopter/FW Inspector Pilot Aviation Maintenance Inspector Helicopter/FW Operations Specialist Aviation Safety Manager

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