1. Monitoring Prescribed fires
Louisa Evers – State/Regional Fire Ecologist
Monitoring Prescribed fires

2. Objectives are Hierarchical
Resource Objectives
Fire Effects Objectives
Fire Behavior Objectives
Burning Prescription

3. Objectives must be: S – specific M – measureable A – attainable
R – relevant
T – trackable

4. Element 20 Fuels information required and procedures
Weather monitoring required and procedures
Fire behavior monitoring required and procedures
Smoke dispersal monitoring required and procedures
Monitoring required to ensure prescribed fire objectives are met

5. Monitoring Methods Brown’s down woody inventory Step counts
Photo guides
Photo points
Monitoring forms
Fuels
Weather
Behavior
Smoke

6. Monitoring Tips Use standard protocols – FFI, monitoring manuals
Use standardized forms
Store the data for later retrieval and analysis

7. Reasons Monitoring Fails
Never completed
Information/data collected but not analyzed
Information/data analyzed but results inconclusive
Information/data analyzed, interesting, but never presented or used
Information/data presented but not used due to internal or external factors
Data/analyses filed but can’t be found
Data/analyses filed on media that become obsolete and not transferred

8. Interagency Monitoring Strategy Key Features
Three intensity levels
Level 1 – GIS maps of treatment areas
Level 2 – qualitative assessment of treatment success on 10% of treatment units
Level 3 – quantitative assessment of treatment success on 1-2 projects per year
Conduct assessments before and after treatment

9. Key Features Continued
Standard protocols and database – FFI
Minimum data standards
Monitor only what is relevant
Additional monitoring paid by other resource programs

10. Goals of Monitoring Strategy
Alter Fire Regime Condition Class
Alter expected wildfire behavior
Alter expected wildfire effects