Introduction and Index

The Cultural Resources and Fire chapter provides guidance for managing and protecting cultural resources that may be affected by wildland fires. The chapter is intended to inform superintendents; cultural resource managers; wildland fire program managers; and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 coordinators about their responsibilities and help them to integrate cultural resource management with fire management operations.

Advance planning, cooperation, and coordination are key to ensuring that cultural resources are fully considered when planning and implementing wildland and structural fire-related activities.

Employee and public safety is the first priority in every cultural resource management and fire-related activity. All cultural resource management and fire-related planning and project implementation must reflect this commitment.

Wildland fire encompasses planned ignitions (prescribed burns), unplanned ignitions (wildfires), and mechanical fuel reductions not involving fire. NPS fire management policies indicate that, whenever feasible, wildfires should be managed rather than suppressed, and prescribed burns and non-fire fuel reductions should be used to reduce unhealthy levels of dead timber. These policies, however, increase the likelihood that cultural resources will be impacted by fire.

Sections Overview

Chapter sections cover the following topics:
2. Fire Preparedness and Cultural Resources identifies actions that all parks should take to protect cultural resources. The basic protective measures are particularly important in the absence of approved fire management plans.
3. Wildland Fire Planning and Cultural Resources emphasizes responsibilities of the cultural resource manager and wildland fire program manager to jointly consider cultural resources when planning for wildland fires.
4. Structural Fires and Cultural Resources outlines responsibilities of the cultural resource manager and structural fire program manager to jointly consider cultural resources when planning for structural fires.
5. Fire Management and Cultural Resource Laws provides guidance and tools for ensuring that wildland and structural fire management planning and implementation comply with cultural resource Federal laws, policies, and Executive Order 13175.
6. Consultation for Compliance with Federal Laws discusses consultation requirements for cultural resource Federal laws, policies, and Executive Order 13175 that are triggered when a Federal undertaking is proposed and when it is implemented.
7. NHPA Programmatic Agreements and Fire describes the nation-wide and park and region-specific programmatic agreements to provide an alternative process to comply with National Historic Preservation Act Section 106.
8. Cultural Resource Data for Fire Management outlines sources and methods for developing specific cultural resource information needed for a satisfactory wildland fire management plan.
9. Managing Cultural Resources During Wildfires provides technical guidance on ways to best ensure that cultural resources are considered during responses to wildfires.
10. Fuel Reduction and Cultural Resources identifies actions to ensure that cultural resources are protected and that fuel reduction projects comply with Federal cultural resources laws, policies, and Executive Order 13175.
11. Post-Wildland Fire Programs and Cultural Resources discusses assistance that the NPS post-wildland fire programs may provide to protect and repair cultural resources after wildfire events.
12. Cultural Resource Monitoring and Fire emphasizes the importance of monitoring for cultural resource protection after wildland fires and associated activities, including post-fire treatments.
13. Authorities for Cultural Resources and Fire lists Federal laws, policies, and Executive Order 13175 for managing cultural resources and for managing fires.
14. Credits contains a brief history of the module, a list of people who assisted in the development, and citation and contact information.