forestry-wildfire-resource-management-method

# Forestry Wildfire Resource Management Method ## Freeze planning unit and authority Record ownership and decision authority, jurisdiction, planning unit and spatial reference, land-management-plan or operator source version, ecological, watershed, wildlife, tribal, cultural and community constraints, inventory baseline, wildfire event status, decision horizon, owner and qualified reviewers. Separate planning evidence from live incident operations. Missing authority or protected-location rules stop the work. Use stable IDs for planning units, stands, plots, samples, datasets, model scenarios, treatment alternatives, fire events and monitoring observations. Preserve source version, collection/observation date, cutoff, spatial resolution and coordinate reference system. Do not infer exact plot or protected-resource locations. ## Reconcile forest inventory Record inventory design, target population, sampling frame, plot/stand definition, measurement protocol/version, remeasurement period, expansion or weighting factors and nonresponse. When an expansion factor is supplied, preserve its unit, stratum, selection-probability basis, version and estimator; never apply it across a different design, geography or inventory cycle. Preserve species, tree/stand size, structure, condition, mortality, removals, regeneration, biomass, carbon and other measures with unit, area/denominator and uncertainty. Keep field measurements, remote-sensing estimates and model outputs distinct. A map pixel is not a plot observation. State sampling error, model error, temporal mismatch and excluded ownerships or conditions. Do not prescribe silviculture or claim sustainable harvest from incomplete inventory. ## Evaluate condition and trend Compare like definitions, sampling frames, protocols, geographies and periods. Separate land-cover change, land-use change, disturbance, mortality, harvest and measurement-method effects. Preserve revisions and reprocessed estimates. A trend is not a causal conclusion. Record competing explanations and external drivers only when supported. Do not attribute mortality, fire risk or ecosystem change to climate, insects, management or another cause without qualified evidence. ## Trace wildfire hazard, fuels and exposure For vegetation, fuel, topography, weather or climate data, record provider, product, version, effective date, resolution, CRS, classification and known limitation. Describe surface, ladder, canopy and other fuel information only as supplied. Bind model outputs to model/version, scenario, weather and moisture assumptions, spatial extent and intended use. Separate hazard or likelihood/intensity metric, exposure of people/assets/ecological/cultural resources and vulnerability/consequence assumptions. Wildfire Risk to Communities and LANDFIRE are planning products, not site-specific tactical truth. Never generate a fire forecast, evacuation route or suppression advice. ## Compare treatment scenarios Describe each supplied scenario by treatment type, area, intensity, timing, sequence, maintenance, access and model assumptions. Possible scenario labels may include mechanical treatment, thinning, prescribed fire or no action, but labels do not authorize implementation. Trace outcomes and tradeoffs across forest health, fuel condition, wildfire behavior metrics as supplied, habitat, biodiversity, soil, water, smoke/emissions, carbon, cultural/community values, operational feasibility, cost and resources. Use consistent baseline, horizon and units. Do not hide tradeoffs in an unapproved weighted score or choose a preferred alternative. ## Separate fire observation products This is a non tactical resource-planning method: it organizes dated evidence for later professional review and never supplies locations, routes, priorities or instructions for live fire operations. Treat NASA FIRMS hotspot detections as sensor observations with acquisition time, confidence and cloud/smoke/coverage limits. They are not confirmed incident perimeters or tactical locations. Record incident perimeters with responsible source and timestamp. Treat MTBS/BARC and other burn-severity products as product-specific post-fire evidence with resolution, algorithm/version and field-validation limits. Do not merge hotspot, perimeter, burn severity and field impact. Preserve differences in timing and purpose. Never use this Skill for active incident command, dispatch, evacuation, public warning or responder navigation. ## Trace post-fire resource monitoring Map fire-event and severity evidence to supplied observations of soil, erosion, hydrology, water quality, vegetation, habitat, invasive species, mortality, regeneration, infrastructure and cultural resources. Record monitoring design, baseline, frequency, field method, units, uncertainty and access restrictions. A detected impact does not authorize BAER, salvage, planting, seeding, closure, herbicide or another intervention. Record treatment/restoration options only as supplied by authorized specialists and preserve permit, consultation and tribal/cultural decision boundaries. ## Join and stop Run inventory/condition, hazard/fuels/exposure, treatment/tradeoff and monitoring/recovery branches from one baseline. Join by stable IDs and reconcile geography, source dates, model scenarios, units and protected-location handling. Preserve unknowns and conflicting ecological or community outcomes. Stop on absent authority, unclear planning unit, incompatible inventory frames, stale or unidentified dataset/model, missing units/CRS, active-incident request, protected-location risk or absent qualified reviewer. Human resource and incident authorities retain every operational and land-management decision.