1. Joint Action Group for National Wildland Fire Weather Needs Assessment USDA Forest Service Research and Development A.R. Riebau, PhD.24 Jan 06

2. USDA FS is a primary player… One of the largest fire management stakeholders We FLM’s are more than fire weather users, we are also: – Primary ‘inventors’ – ‘Go to’ researchers – Data keepers and collectors – Partners in fire weather – Smoke management pioneers We will likely have much to contribute We are pleased to be here and are committed for the ‘long- haul’

3. Who am I? National Program Leader for Atmospheric Sciences Research (part of USDA FS R&D – about 30 years experience with FLMs – Corps of Engineers, DOI, USDA) But more importantly I work closely with our operational side of the house: Pete Lahm, National Program Leader for Smoke National Program Leaders in Air Quality, Fire Management, FLM agencies, EPA, USGS, NOAA/NWS

4. Additional national focus items Fire fighting depends on fire weather information. There are some ‘new’ issues which include: Explicit linkage of weather/atmosphere to fire behavior Improving the National Fire Danger Rating System Fuels treatments/prescribed fire Wildland fire smoke Seasonal predictions Urbanization of landscapes

5. What I hope to bring to the JAG I agree with Eli that coordination and cooperation are keys to success in – Research Science delivery Operations Implementation of systems “Evolution” of the state of the practice

6. What issues might (I suggest) we wish to understand better?  How is variability in the climate system changing fire weather and fire ecology?  Can weather models (e.g., WRF from NCEP) help us to refine our surface weather observations?  How far ahead will we be able to provide insights into the severity of fire seasons and what are the standards for this activity?

7. What issues might (I suggest) we wish to understand better?  Does the Wildland Urban Interface require some different or ‘specialized’ fire weather standards?  Are bad fire seasons also bad air quality seasons, and if so, what implications are there in this for fire weather?  Do we address fire indices, such as the Haines Index, as part of this work?

8. You likely have many more issues to add…. ?

9. Conclusions There is a lot of work before us This is a chance for a real contribution to the future Sometimes a little poverty can create a great lot of creativity and partnership Let’s focus on saying the right thing in a way that is realistic but yet optimistic