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Fire Management Plan - - 2024/2025
Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park » Fire Management Plan - - 2024/2025 » Document List
The National Park Service (NPS) Wildland Fire Program manages wildland fire to protect the public, park communities, and infrastructure; conserve natural and cultural resources; and maintain and restore natural ecosystem processes, as highlighted in the NPS Wildland Fire Strategic Plan.
Fire management plans (FMPs) implement strategies for managing fire and fuels within and adjacent to the parks, as determined cooperatively by various federal, state, local land managers, private landowners, and public stakeholders, in service of protecting park resources and values. An FMP should both protect resources and, to the most practicable extent, reintroduce fire as an ecological process on the landscape. The fire management planning process evaluates the current fire management situation and develops a cooperative and collaborative plan to benefit and adapt to the changing needs and conditions of the parks and adjacent lands. Auditing of the Fire Managment Program at a Service-wide level identified the age and format of the parks' 2003 FMP as being outdated and a corrective action plan has identified the BLCA/CURE plans as needing to be completed prior to the parks being eligible for any key fire treatment measures (e.g. prescribed burns, defensible space, etc.) or their related funding.
The Fire Management Plan for Black Canyon of the Gunnison (BLCA) and Curecanti National Recreation Area (CURE) was last updated in 2006 (see DataStore - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area Fire Management Plan and NEPA Documents (nps.gov) for the 2006 Fire Management Plan, associated Environmental Assessment, and current Fire Management Unit map). The 2006 NPS Management Policies require all park units with burnable vegetation have an approved Fire Management Plan (FMP). An FMP is a programmatic planning document that describes policy, goals, and objectives, and establishes strategies and tactics for managing wildland fire and non-fire fuel treatments, such as manual and mechanical thinning.
The National Park Service (NPS) has released an environmental assessment (EA) evaluating the impacts of the Proposed Fire Management Plan (FMP) at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (BLCA) and Curecanti National Recreation Area (CURE). The FMP EA considers wildland fire management practices, techniques, and tools including ground and aviation operations, suppression, and fire fuels management such as manual, mechanical, and prescribed fire treatments.
Under Alternative A, the no-action alternative, the NPS would not implement the proposed FMP for the park units. Treatment activities would be limited to full suppression of wildland fires as they occur, and maintenance of existing defensible space. The NPS would continue to employ full suppression to control a fire and prevent it from exceeding a defined perimeter. Under the no-action alternative, the NPS would continue to use common tools and strategies associated with fire suppression efforts.
Under Alternative B, the proposed action and preferred alternative, the NPS would implement a new FMP for the park units. Under this alternative, the NPS would manage unplanned fires in the same manner as described under the no-action alternative and would continue to employ full suppression to control a fire and prevent it from exceeding a defined perimeter. For purposes of fire management, the park would be divided into three fire management units (FMUs): Habitat FMU (wildfire suppression to the smallest size possible, with some permissible low severity fire); Wilderness FMU (allow wildfire to continue its ecological role, while preserving natural and cultural resources, reducing negative human impacts, and reducing negative impacts to wilderness character qualities); Conditional FMU (protection of high value resources and assets, followed by ecological benefits and goals).
In addition, Alternative B provides programmatic support of proposed fuel treatment projects that are described in the FMP. The goal is to support and streamline implementation of fuel treatment projects and any future site-specific compliance analyses.
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the BLCA and CURE FMP EA evaluates potential impacts of these two fire management plan alternatives on the natural, biological, physical, and cultural environments related to BLCA and CURE. Upon conclusion of this EA and decision-making process, one of the alternatives would be implemented. The NPS is seeking input on the plan's environmental assessment during the 30-day public comment period. A newsletter with more information, as well as the EA document, is available for review online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/BLCACUREFMP2024. Submitting comments through the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) system is strongly encouraged, or comments can be mailed to:
Superintendent, Curecanti National Recreation Area
Attn: Fire Management Plan EA
102 Elk Creek
Gunnison, CO 81230
Comments by email or phone will not be accepted. The 30-day public comment period is from January 7, 2025 to February 6, 2025.
Fire management plans (FMPs) implement strategies for managing fire and fuels within and adjacent to the parks, as determined cooperatively by various federal, state, local land managers, private landowners, and public stakeholders, in service of protecting park resources and values. An FMP should both protect resources and, to the most practicable extent, reintroduce fire as an ecological process on the landscape. The fire management planning process evaluates the current fire management situation and develops a cooperative and collaborative plan to benefit and adapt to the changing needs and conditions of the parks and adjacent lands. Auditing of the Fire Managment Program at a Service-wide level identified the age and format of the parks' 2003 FMP as being outdated and a corrective action plan has identified the BLCA/CURE plans as needing to be completed prior to the parks being eligible for any key fire treatment measures (e.g. prescribed burns, defensible space, etc.) or their related funding.
The Fire Management Plan for Black Canyon of the Gunnison (BLCA) and Curecanti National Recreation Area (CURE) was last updated in 2006 (see DataStore - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area Fire Management Plan and NEPA Documents (nps.gov) for the 2006 Fire Management Plan, associated Environmental Assessment, and current Fire Management Unit map). The 2006 NPS Management Policies require all park units with burnable vegetation have an approved Fire Management Plan (FMP). An FMP is a programmatic planning document that describes policy, goals, and objectives, and establishes strategies and tactics for managing wildland fire and non-fire fuel treatments, such as manual and mechanical thinning.
The National Park Service (NPS) has released an environmental assessment (EA) evaluating the impacts of the Proposed Fire Management Plan (FMP) at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (BLCA) and Curecanti National Recreation Area (CURE). The FMP EA considers wildland fire management practices, techniques, and tools including ground and aviation operations, suppression, and fire fuels management such as manual, mechanical, and prescribed fire treatments.
Under Alternative A, the no-action alternative, the NPS would not implement the proposed FMP for the park units. Treatment activities would be limited to full suppression of wildland fires as they occur, and maintenance of existing defensible space. The NPS would continue to employ full suppression to control a fire and prevent it from exceeding a defined perimeter. Under the no-action alternative, the NPS would continue to use common tools and strategies associated with fire suppression efforts.
Under Alternative B, the proposed action and preferred alternative, the NPS would implement a new FMP for the park units. Under this alternative, the NPS would manage unplanned fires in the same manner as described under the no-action alternative and would continue to employ full suppression to control a fire and prevent it from exceeding a defined perimeter. For purposes of fire management, the park would be divided into three fire management units (FMUs): Habitat FMU (wildfire suppression to the smallest size possible, with some permissible low severity fire); Wilderness FMU (allow wildfire to continue its ecological role, while preserving natural and cultural resources, reducing negative human impacts, and reducing negative impacts to wilderness character qualities); Conditional FMU (protection of high value resources and assets, followed by ecological benefits and goals).
In addition, Alternative B provides programmatic support of proposed fuel treatment projects that are described in the FMP. The goal is to support and streamline implementation of fuel treatment projects and any future site-specific compliance analyses.
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the BLCA and CURE FMP EA evaluates potential impacts of these two fire management plan alternatives on the natural, biological, physical, and cultural environments related to BLCA and CURE. Upon conclusion of this EA and decision-making process, one of the alternatives would be implemented. The NPS is seeking input on the plan's environmental assessment during the 30-day public comment period. A newsletter with more information, as well as the EA document, is available for review online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/BLCACUREFMP2024. Submitting comments through the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) system is strongly encouraged, or comments can be mailed to:
Superintendent, Curecanti National Recreation Area
Attn: Fire Management Plan EA
102 Elk Creek
Gunnison, CO 81230
Comments by email or phone will not be accepted. The 30-day public comment period is from January 7, 2025 to February 6, 2025.