Reorganization at the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)

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Recently, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) has been undergoing several significant changes to better serve NWCG members agencies. Here are some of the changes:

First, NWCG has been broken into three branches. Each branch has a Branch Coordinator assigned. Their duties are described as: The Branch Coordinators are advocates for the current NWCG Committees. Their mission is to improve the connections and coordination between NWCG’s Committees and the NWCG Executive Board and to streamline the development and implementation of standards and policies across the wildland fire community.

The new Branch Coordinators are:

Elaine Waterbury

Branch Coordinator

Policy, Planning, and Management

 
 
 
 

Paul Schlobohm
Branch Coordinator
Equipment and Technology

Tim Blake
Branch Coordinator
Preparedness

Secondly, the former NWCG “Working Groups” have been renamed into “Committees” and their web addresses have changed.

Under the Policy, Planning, and Management Branch sit these new committees:

1. Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee (CEPC). Contact: John Owens.
2. Fire Policy Committee (FPC). Contact: Dick Bahr.
3. Fuels Management Committee (FMC). Contact: Erik Christiansen.
4. Interagency Fire Planning Committee (IFPC). Contact: Becky Brooks.
5. Smoke Committee (SMOC). Contact: Pete Lahm.
6. Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Committee (WUIMC). Contact: Will May.

Under the Equipment and Technology Branch sit these new committees:

1. Equipment Technology Committee (ETC). Contact: Tory Henderson.
2. Fire Environment Committee (FENC). Contact: Kelly Martin.
3. Information Technology Committee (ITC). Contact: Shari Shelter.
4. National Interagency Aviation Committee (NIAC). Contact: Susie Bates.

Under the Preparedness Branch sit these committees:

1. Incident Business Committee (IBC). Contact: Sarah Fisher.
2. National Response Framework/NIMS Committee (NRF/NIMS). Contact: Gordon Sachs.
3. Risk Management Committee (RMC). Contact: Michelle Ryerson.
4. Operations and Workforce Development Committee (OWDC). Contact: Vince Mazzier.

Under each of the various committees, you will find various subcommittees such as:

Within the Fire Environment Committee, you will find these subcommittees –

* Fire Behavior Subcommittee
* Fire Danger Subcommittee
* Fire Weather Subcommittee
* National Predictive Services Subcommittee
* Fire Reporting Subcommittee

Or within the Risk Management Committee, you will find these subcommittees –

* Federal Fire and Aviation Safety Team
* Six Minutes For Safety Task Team
* Fire Fit Task Group
* WFSTAR Task Group

Undoubtedly, these changes are most likely for the better, and will help to streamline some of the NWCG processes. Likewise, I think it will help by keeping committees from working on things that the other committees have been working on, thus reducing duplicate efforts.

What is disturbing though, is the general lack of participation by the Forest Service Line Officers in providing experienced members for Chair, Co-Chair, and committee member positions on the various committees and subcommittees. Like it or not, these committees are providing some sort of national direction in wildland fire management for program safety, efficiency, and effectiveness. You have to have the appropriate subject matter experts (SMEs) from the field on these committees to provide real world credibility and accountability…. and these folks are the local fire program managers and firefighters with the greatest experience.

The Forest Service Fire Program either needs to lead, follow, participate, or get out of the way in firefighting partnerships such as NWCG… CWCG… CAL CHIEFS… FIRESCOPE… NFPA… and IAFC… etc… JMHO.

I’ve stated my opinion, now I’d like to hear yours. Please reply by clicking on the comments button below, or by commenting at comments@ramblingchief.com .
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