Fire Effects Monitoring

The primary source of guidance for managers dealing with fire monitoring is NPS Wildland Fire Reference Manual 18 (RM-18). This manual is part of NPS Directives System, a group of procedures, mandates, and measures that help Park managers make informed decisions. RM-18 is the directive which mandates NPS personnel to monitor as part of an integrated fire ecology program. This Manual states that, "All units implementing fire use activity must develop short and long term monitoring programs to assess accomplishments and to determine effects of management activities on cultural and natural resources."

Fire Monitoring Plans
A fire management plan (FMP) is a Park-specific document which details the acceptable uses of fire and guides fire management activities within a given Park unit. A fire monitoring plan is a formalized strategy which specifies what, when, and how key resource features and characteristics will be measured for monitoring purposes. A fire monitoring plan (outline in RM-18) must be developed as an appendix to the fire management plan to document the attributes that will be monitored, methods to be used, sampling intensity, and the frequency of monitoring efforts.

Fire Monitoring Protocols
To determine if management objectives are being met, appropriate methods for monitoring must be implemented. RM-18 states that "The NPS Fire Monitoring Handbook is recommended as a source document providing monitoring procedures that meet NPS needs. Monitoring protocols must be reviewed and approved at the regional office level before receiving funding. Monitoring should, whenever possible, result in digital data including GIS-compatible data."

Data Management, Analysis, and Results
Managing the monitoring data appropriately, regularly analyzing the data, and communicating the results are all critical to making the monitoring program a useful adaptive management tool for fire and resource management programs.