Integrating Wildland Fire Management Into Land Management Planning

Managing wildland fire in the U.S. is a challenge increasing in complexity & magnitude. The goals & actions presented in this report encourage a proactive approach to wildland fire to reduce its threat. Five major topic areas on the subject are addressed: the role of wildland fire in resource management; the use of wildland fire; preparedness & suppression; wildland/urban interface protection; & coordinated program management. Also presented are the guiding principle that are fundamental to wildland fire management & recommendations for fire management policies. Photos, graphs, & references.

We report the results of a questionnaire and workshop that sought to gain a better and deeper understanding of the contemporary information needs of wildland fire and fuels managers. Results from the questionnaire indicated that the decision to suppress a wildland fire was most often influenced by factors related to safety and that the decision to allow a fire to burn was influenced by a variety of factors that varied according to land management objectives. We also found that managers anticipated an increase in the use of wildland fire, but that these increases will be moderate due to a variety of constraints that will continue to limit the use of wildland fire. From the workshop, we learned that managers will need to become increasingly strategic with their fire and fuels management planning, and that the information used to support tactical fire operations may prove to be insufficient. Furthermore, the managers participating in the workshop indicated the functional linkage between land management and fire management planning is lacking. We suggest that effective fire management planning requires information on the benefits and risks to a wide variety of values at landscape scales, integration with land management objectives, and a long-term perspective.

Damaging wildfires in many parts of the world in recent years have prompted an increase in demand for technical support for integrated fire management. As part of the response, FAO and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Global Fire Management Hub (Fire Hub), which was launched at the 8th International Wildland Fire Conference in May 2023. The aim of the Fire Hub is to strengthen the capacity of countries to implement integrated fire management and reduce the negative effects of wildfires on people, landscapes and the global climate. One of the Fire Hub’s first activities was to update FAO’s Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines: Principles and strategic actions, which was first published in 2006, to guide implementation of integrated fire management at the landscape level, enhance best fire-management practices, including cultural practices for sustainable land use, and engage diverse stakeholders. This second edition of the guidelines, now titled, Integrated Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines: Principles and strategic actions, benefited from contributions from the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC), the International Liaison Committee of the International Wildland Fire Conferences, and Regional Fire Management Resource Centers of the GFMC’s Global Wildland Fire Network. In addition, FAO engaged with experts in countries and specialized partner institutions for insights into new developments and solutions in integrated fire management.