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This updated protocol is based on the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)’s 2017 “Guide to Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species Transport by Wildland Fire Operations” (PMS 444). The intent of this NRCG guide is to provide a more prescriptive protocol intended for a fire management audience, and to increase compliance and consistency of best management practices related to preventing AIS. The protocol applies to both ground operations and aviation and is mandatory in the Northern Rockies region. This protocol is demonstrated via a “How to Guide,” which includes detailed instructions for ordering, set up, and assembly of AIS decontamination stations; options for products/equipment based on site specific conditions; and best management practices for drafting water, which can prevent the risk of most AIS being transported or spread via wildland fire equipment. Fire management agencies in the west are taking the threat of AIS seriously and have committed to decreasing the possible risk of introduction and spread by fire management personnel.
See also: Invasive Species Subcommittee which provides national leadership in the prevention of invasive species transport by wildland fire mobile equipment and related vehicles.

Invasive cheatgrass, reviled by Western ranchers and conservationists, has long since earned a reputation as a firestarter, making wildfires worse and more common. Same with climate change: It's well understood that climate warming is making western wildfires worse. But it’s not just cheatgrass anymore, or just a warming West: a new analysis finds at least seven other non-native grasses can increase wildfire risk in places across the country, some doubling or even tripling the likelihood of fires in grass-invaded areas.

The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy is a collaborative process with active involvement of all levels of government and non-governmental organizations, as well as the public, to seek national, all-lands solutions to wildland fire management issues.

This policy resolution addresses the management of forest and rangelands in coordination with federal agencies and addresses issues including wildland fire, invasive spaces, and collaborative efforts.

WGA resolutions are in effect for three years and then expire or are renewed. See all current WGA Policy Resolutions.

Across the Pacific, wildfire poses a major threat to biological and cultural resources, and the threat is only predicted to become larger with climate change. In this talk, graduate students Kevin Faccenda and Kelsey Brock discuss a new tool and methodology for predicting the fire risk of invasive species before they enter a region so that management efforts can be focused on the highest risk incipient species.

This tool uses data collected from the primary literature as well as a machine learning model trained on expert survey data to predict fire risk. Their team examined this risk in a spatial context by modeling the distribution of multiple invasive plants and climatic conditions that promote wildfire across the main Hawaiian Islands. Models were created based on current-day climate conditions as well potential conditions at the end of the century to under climate change.