Management

Wildland fire is any non-structure fire that occurs in forests, woodlands, shrublands, or grasslands and includes planned (prescribed fire), unplanned naturally caused fires (i.e., lightning ignitions), or unwanted human-caused fires (e.g., escaped campfires). Most of the vegetation on the Santa Fe NF is adapted to recurrent wildland fires that may be as frequent as every 2 years in montane subalpine grassland or as infrequent as every 500 years in mixed conifer with aspen. However, most fire-adapted systems in the forest are highly departed from their natural fire regimes. Decades of active fire suppression efforts have dramatically changed the vegetative composition on the Santa Fe NF from reference conditions. Many areas of the forest are now characterized by abnormally high stand densities and shifted species compositions, where fire-sensitive species like white fir have colonized stands, displacing many fire-adapted species (e.g., ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir). 

Frequent, low-severity fires have played a vital role in maintaining the health of many fire-adapted ecosystems throughout history. These fires consume fine fuels (e.g., litter, woody debris) and maintain open stand conditions by suppressing over-abundant small-diameter seedlings and saplings. The reduction in fine fuels and small trees, which function as ladder fuels, greatly reduces the risk of uncharacteristic fire. Frequent, low-severity fires generally do not damage larger diameter trees, especially for species such as ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir that have thick bark designed to withstand low- to moderate-severity fire. Because these larger trees are resistant, low-severity fires can help reduce competition for resources, decrease drought stress, promote old growth development, increase forest health, and potentially increase timber values. Furthermore, the combination of canopy openings (created through fire) and the burning of organic materials, promote the growth of grasses and forbs, which provide forage for wildlife and grazing animals, stabilize soil, support proper water infiltration, and increase plant diversity. Other areas within the Santa Fe NF, such as high-elevation spruce-fir forests, have historically supported infrequent fire regimes characterized by moderate- to high-severity fire. These fires create patches of vegetation with varied ages and structures, increase snag density, and (in some areas) regenerate aspen. Sometimes, these typical fire events lead to subsequent beetle outbreaks, which further open canopies and increase the proportion of early seral states on the landscape. Although fire may be a rare occurrence in infrequent fire ecosystems, fire and other disturbances are ecologically significant and are necessary to initiate early seral states within larger, mature stands. Patches of early seral states (e.g., shrub-forb-grass, or aspen) contribute to habitat diversity important for certain wildlife and avian species and increase the resiliency of the larger ecosystem to widespread disturbance agents such as insect outbreaks or disease, which tend to infect dense stands of older, stressed trees. 

Healthy Ecosystems are resilient to uncharacteristic fire disturbance (fires that burn large areas with excessive severity). Fire, both planned and unplanned, is a tool for restoring fire-adapted ecosystems that burn under natural fire regimes, where fires typically burn over smaller areas and with mixed (not extreme) severity. However, in areas where vegetation structure is not consistent with desired conditions, specifically areas with closed canopies and abundant ladder fuels, fuel reduction treatments are needed to minimize risks of uncharacteristic fire. When appropriate weather and fuel conditions exist, the use of wildland fire is a cost-effective tool for restoring ecosystem function and reducing the likelihood of wildland fire uncharacteristic to its natural regime. In addition to fire treatments, management activities, such as thinning or tree harvesting, may be needed to reduce tree density and canopy cover, and support the return of natural fire regimes. Following thinning treatments, (prescribed) fire may be needed to remove residual fuels and further reduce the risk of uncharacteristic fire.

1. Wildland fires do not result in the loss of life, property, or cultural resources, or create irreparable harm to ecological resources.
2. Wildland fire protects, maintains, and enhances resources. It is allowed to function in its natural ecological role on a landscape scale and across administrative boundaries, under conditions where safety and values at risk can be protected.
3. Wildland fires burn within the range of severity and frequency of historic fire regimes for the affected vegetation communities. High-severity fires rarely occur where they were not historically part of the fire regime.
4. Naturally caused fires predominate; accidental human-caused fires (e.g., abandoned campfire, downed powerlines) are rare.
5. Fires function in their natural ecological role in designated areas (e.g., wilderness and research natural areas).
6. Restoration and fuel treatments result in ecological resources that are adaptable to changing climate conditions.

1. Human safety must be the highest priority in all fire response actions.
2. A suppression strategy must occur on human-caused fire or where necessary to protect life, investments, and valuable resources (e.g., wildland-urban interface) at the lowest cost with the fewest negative consequences with respect to firefighter and public safety.
3. When suppression is an objective, the agency administrator must consider firefighter exposure, risk, values, cost, and likelihood of success, before trying to limit the size of wildfires.

1. Naturally occurring fires should be allowed to perform their natural ecological role to meet multiple resource objectives and facilitate progress toward desired conditions (per desired conditions of various resources throughout the plan).
2. Wildfire (naturally ignited fire) should only be suppressed when outside the natural range of variability or where necessary to protect life, investments, and valuable resources.
3. Response to unplanned ignitions that cross jurisdictional boundaries should be coordinated and managed to meet the responsible agency’s objectives.
4. Fire management activities should be coordinated with specialists of resources that may be impacted.
5. Wildfire response should be spatially and temporally dynamic and should be based on a risk management approach that accomplishes integrated resource objectives.
6. Measures should be taken to prevent entrapment of fish and aquatic organisms and the spread of parasites or disease (e.g., chytrid fungus, Didiymo, and whirling disease), when drafting (withdrawing) water from streams or other water bodies during fire management activities (Preventing Spread of Aquatic Invasive Organisms Common to the Southwestern Region Technical Guidelines for Fire Operations, Interagency Guidance Rev. August 2009).
7. Measures should be taken to prevent the spread of invasive plant species by equipment and personnel during fire management and rehabilitation operations.
8. Post-fire restoration and recovery should be provided where critical resource concerns merit rehabilitation for controlling the spread of invasive species, protecting areas of cultural concern, protecting critical or endangered species habitat, or protecting other highly valued resources such as drinking water.
9. Higher fire intensities and associated fire effects at the fine scale (less than 10 acres) should be accepted in areas that are moderately to highly departed from desired conditions. Multiple small areas of high mortality are preferable to a single large, high-severity area.
10. Burn pile composition should contain a mixture of fuel sizes. Large woody fuels, 9 inches in diameter or greater, should be limited to less than 40 percent of the composition of the pile to prevent adverse impacts to the soil.
11. Depth of masticated materials should not exceed an average of 4 inches and materials should be discontinuous at the quarter-acre scale to protect the soil and allow for natural revegetation.

1. Consider collaborating with stakeholders and partnering agencies early and often to successfully meet resource objectives through the use of fire while minimizing adverse impacts. Educate internally and externally the potential benefits, challenges and tradeoffs of wildland fire.
2. Coordinate management of wildland fire across jurisdictional boundaries whenever there is potential for managing a wildfire or a prescribed fire on more than one jurisdiction (e.g., Federal, State, county, local, tribal governments, and land grants, etc.). This includes water sources, access, and land use agreements. This is done with the understanding that fire adapted ecosystems and communities transcend jurisdictional boundaries.
3. When planning and implementing fuels projects and all hazard response, work collaboratively with Federal, State, local governments, and private landowners; consider promoting public safety and reducing the risk of wildfire on lands of other ownership by supporting the development and implementation of community wildfire protection plans (CWPPs) or similar assessments and management plans to mitigate negative impacts of wildfire. CWPPs are also important tools for mitigation efforts such as wildfire preparedness, evacuation planning, and other mitigations that will aid in wildfire response.
4. When conditions facilitate safe progress toward desired conditions, consider managing naturally ignited fires to meet multiple resource objectives concurrently (i.e., protection and resource enhancement), which can change as the fire spreads across the landscape.
5. Wildfire objectives are based on interdisciplinary assessment of site-specific values such as desired conditions, existing fuel conditions, current and expected weather, fire location, resource availability, social and economic considerations, and values to enhance or protect; and consider courses of action to protect or enhance those values.
6. Consider the use of planned and unplanned fire in areas such as steep and rugged terrain or remote areas, as this may be the only viable tool where mechanical treatments are not feasible.
7. Consider implementing treatments where they provide the most benefit (e.g., values-at-risk) and improve or maintain ecological integrity (e.g., vegetative departure).
8. When managing planned ignitions, consider creating conditions that enable future unplanned ignitions to mimic their historical role or to serve as a tool to achieve resource objectives and to move ecosystems closer to desired conditions.
9. In areas departed or trending away from desired conditions, consider combining the use of fire with mechanical treatments, as this is often the most effective approach to restoring forest structure and function.
10. Consider the importance of developing practices and protocols to reduce non-prescribed human ignitions by providing timely and disseminating widely fire danger and fire restriction information. Consider educating the public on their responsibility to help reduce human-caused wildfires by providing information in the form of signage, public contacts, and fire restrictions in locations such as trailheads and designated recreation areas.
11. Consider the scenic effects from prescribed fire during project planning and implementation. Blackened and scorched vegetation may be visible in project areas in the short-term following treatments but take into consideration the long-term scenic integrity objectives.
12. In wildland and managed fire areas that are not expected to reseed naturally, consider seeding with native vegetation and implement other site rehabilitation practices, as necessary. Consider that fire suppression support activities and facilities (including constructed fire lines, fuel breaks and safety areas, fire camps, staging areas, heli-bases, and heli-spots), follow the same site rehabilitation practices.
13. Consider collaborating with scientists (e.g., from universities, Forest Service Research and Development, U.S. Geological Survey, or Ecological Restoration Institute) and other land management agencies or organizations to conduct research on areas impacted by uncharacteristic wildfire to understand how fire has altered the ecological conditions outside the natural range of variation and develop strategies to better manage these areas.
14. Consider providing educational resources and outreach so that residents living within and adjacent to the forest are knowledgeable about wildfire protection of their homes and property, including providing for defensible space.  
15. Wildland fire is understood, both internally and by the public, as a necessary disturbance process integral to the function and sustainability of ecosystems

The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is where homes and wildlands meet or intermingle (Stein et al. 2013); the wildland area surrounding resident populations, and other human developments of special significance that are at imminent risk from wildfire. These areas may include residential homes, critical communications sites, municipal watersheds, high voltage transmission lines, observatories, church or scout camps, research facilities, and other structures that if destroyed by fire, would result in hardship to communities. WUI areas encompass not only the sites themselves, but also the continuous slopes and fuels that lie adjacent to and surround the sites. 

The Santa Fe NF is faced with varied and unique challenges, given its proximity to numerous WUI areas. For instance, the forest provides a large percentage of the drinking water for the city of Santa Fe, and other surrounding areas. Any large, high-severity fire in this area would pose a serious hazard to human health and safety. Many urban WUI areas border the Santa Fe NF and the larger population centers of Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Las Vegas. The forest also intersects numerous smaller, rural communities with values at risk. Collaborative efforts among the forest; tribes; cities, counties, and community agencies; non-profits; and landowners can help to mitigate the risk of uncharacteristic fire within these complex WUI areas through fuels reduction treatments. High priority areas for risk mitigation are identified through risk assessments, while public health and safety is addressed through determining evacuation plans and providing education and awareness. 

WUI areas provide numerous supporting, cultural, and provisioning ecosystem services to the people who live, work, or recreate there. These areas offer a transitional environment between the more hectic life of the city and the gentler pace of nature, increasing human health and well-being. Trees surrounding homes or other structures provide shade, which reduces cooling costs in the summer, and provide wind breaks that buffer homes and structures from direct winds. The complex vegetation arrangements in WUI areas may support a greater diversity of wildlife and avian species, enhancing wildlife viewing or bird watching opportunities. Further, WUI areas provide corridors for utilities that deliver an array of amenities to area residents. The reduction of fire risk within WUI areas not only protects human life, property, and infrastructure, but it can also benefit the surrounding ecosystem, providing regulating ecosystem services. Fuel reduction treatments in the WUI would increase the health and vigor of residual trees, which in turn contributes to increased air quality, benefitting the humans (and animals) that reside in or visit the WUI.