The Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative was initiated in 2017 to reduce wildfire risk and improve border security by actively conducting fuels treatments on Department of Interior (DOI) and tribal lands within 100 miles of the US-Mexico border. The initiative supports Executive Order 13855: Promoting Active Management of America’s Forests, Rangelands, and Other Federal Land to Improve Conditions and Reduce Wildfire Risk; in conjunction with DOI Secretarial Order 3372: Reducing Wildfire Risks on DOI Land Through Active Management.
Risks posed by high fuel loads and catastrophic wildfire along the US-Mexico Border:
- Threatens human life, health, and infrastructure
- Imperils natural and cultural resources on Federal and Tribal lands
- Impacts to US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) facilities located on DOI lands
- Reduces viewsheds important to CBP operations and national security
- Decreases air quality and visibility
- Deteriorates critical habitat of at-risk and endangered species (e.g., masked bobwhite quail).
- Propagates non-native invasive species (e.g., buffelgrass, Lehmann’s lovegrass).
- Interferes with hydrology, creates erosion and sedimentation, and reduces water quantity and quality of surface and ground water.
- Large fires can cross jurisdictional boundaries and threaten neighboring lands
Strategies to reduce fire risk and improve viewsheds along the U.S. southern border
Wildfire at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) in southern Arizona not only threatens critical habitat, but also CBP infrastructure and operations. Like many DOI lands along the US-Mexico border, the refuge has experienced an expansion of woody plants and invasive non-native species, which increase fuel load, fire hazard, and fire-line intensity.
This pilot study is a part of the DOI Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative, and serves the USFWS, DOI Office of Wildland Fire, and the Department of Homeland Security within BANWR in southern Arizona.
Study Objectives
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Develop metrics to evaluate change in wildfire risk and viewshed due to fuels treatment.
-
Refine fuels mapping methods with satellite imagery and ground-based measurements
-
Determine the recovery time following wildfire and the effects of fuels treatments
-
Assess current and future fire behavior under different management scenarios
Expected Products
-
A fuels map for the refuge and adjoining regions that can be updated at management relevant time-scales
-
An evaluation of how historical wildfires affect different fuel types and viewsheds over the short- and long-term
-
An appraisal of how effective fuel treatments are at mitigating wildfire risk
-
Projections of future fire risks under different management scenarios
The tools and products developed in this pilot study can be expanded to understand wildfire risk, fuels, and viewsheds across the entire southern border region.
The Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative was initiated in 2017 to reduce wildfire risk and improve border security by actively conducting fuels treatments on Department of Interior (DOI) and tribal lands within 100 miles of the US-Mexico border. The initiative supports Executive Order 13855: Promoting Active Management of America’s Forests, Rangelands, and Other Federal Land to Improve Conditions and Reduce Wildfire Risk; in conjunction with DOI Secretarial Order 3372: Reducing Wildfire Risks on DOI Land Through Active Management.
Risks posed by high fuel loads and catastrophic wildfire along the US-Mexico Border:
- Threatens human life, health, and infrastructure
- Imperils natural and cultural resources on Federal and Tribal lands
- Impacts to US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) facilities located on DOI lands
- Reduces viewsheds important to CBP operations and national security
- Decreases air quality and visibility
- Deteriorates critical habitat of at-risk and endangered species (e.g., masked bobwhite quail).
- Propagates non-native invasive species (e.g., buffelgrass, Lehmann’s lovegrass).
- Interferes with hydrology, creates erosion and sedimentation, and reduces water quantity and quality of surface and ground water.
- Large fires can cross jurisdictional boundaries and threaten neighboring lands
Strategies to reduce fire risk and improve viewsheds along the U.S. southern border
Wildfire at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) in southern Arizona not only threatens critical habitat, but also CBP infrastructure and operations. Like many DOI lands along the US-Mexico border, the refuge has experienced an expansion of woody plants and invasive non-native species, which increase fuel load, fire hazard, and fire-line intensity.
This pilot study is a part of the DOI Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative, and serves the USFWS, DOI Office of Wildland Fire, and the Department of Homeland Security within BANWR in southern Arizona.
Study Objectives
-
Develop metrics to evaluate change in wildfire risk and viewshed due to fuels treatment.
-
Refine fuels mapping methods with satellite imagery and ground-based measurements
-
Determine the recovery time following wildfire and the effects of fuels treatments
-
Assess current and future fire behavior under different management scenarios
Expected Products
-
A fuels map for the refuge and adjoining regions that can be updated at management relevant time-scales
-
An evaluation of how historical wildfires affect different fuel types and viewsheds over the short- and long-term
-
An appraisal of how effective fuel treatments are at mitigating wildfire risk
-
Projections of future fire risks under different management scenarios
The tools and products developed in this pilot study can be expanded to understand wildfire risk, fuels, and viewsheds across the entire southern border region.