[Ski]

Wednesday January 31, 2018 17:20 PST Olympic National Park News Release Public Invited to Provide Input on Draft Alternatives for Olympic National Park Fire Management Plan Public Meetings Scheduled; Comments Accepted Through March 2nd The National Park Service invites the public to review and provide input in developing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a revised Wildland Fire Management Plan (FMP) for Olympic National Park. The preliminary alternatives can be reviewed at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/FMPscoping. The park’s purpose in taking action is to update the FMP in order to meet the most current NPS and federal policies. The need for taking action is to have a plan that provides park managers the most current direction and guidance to assist when making decisions related to wildland fire activities. The NPS proposes two alternatives for examination in the EA. The no action alternative would maintain the current strategy as outlined in the 2005 FMP. Alternative B would provide updates to the FMP that would: - bring the FMP into conformance with current NPS wildland fire policy directives and standards; - provide the park with the flexibility to manage fire in accordance with current federal wildland fire management policies and guidance adopted since the publication of the 2005 FMP; - improve overall management of planned and unplanned ignitions, and non-fire fuel treatments to reflect wildfire experiences of the past decade; and - fully acknowledge wildfire as an ecological process within the park. A series of public meetings are scheduled for mid-February and the public is invited to participate. QUILCENE Thursday, February 15, 2018 5:30 pm- 7:30 pm Quilcene Community Center 294952 US Highway 101 Quilcene, WA 98376 Phone: (360) 765-3321 AMANDA PARK Tuesday, February 20, 2018 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Timberland Regional Library 6118 US Highway 101 Amanda Park, WA 98526 Phone: (360) 288-2725 PORT ANGELES Thursday, February 22, 2018 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm Port Angeles Senior Center 328 E 7th Street Port Angeles, WA 98362 Phone: (360) 457-7004 At each meeting, there will be a short presentation followed by an open house where staff will be present to answer questions. The preliminary alternatives are available for review and comment at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/FMPscoping. Comments will also be accepted during scheduled public meetings or can be mailed or hand-delivered to: Superintendent, Olympic National Park – FMP Scoping, 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA 98362. Comments submitted by phone or email will not be accepted. Comments submitted by individuals or organizations on behalf of other individuals or organizations also will not be accepted. You should be aware that your entire comment – including personal identifying information such as your address, phone number, and email address – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. www.nps.gov

[Ski]

The Ozette Prairies of Olympic National Park - Their Former Indigenous Uses and Management

[RodF]

Ski, agree. Restoring Indian-Set Fires to Prairie Ecosystems on the Olympic Peninsula, Wray & Anderson Natural History of the Ahlstrom’s and Roose’s Prairies, Olympic National Park, Bach & Conca are also relevant. The scoping announcement suggests this might be one of the policy updates sought. However, certain groups have long been in opposition OLYMPIC PARK PLANS TO SET FIRES IN THE WILDERNESS Burns for Cultural, Non-Safety Reasons Are Illegal and Ill-Advised, Groups Charge. (Ironically, the same groups endorse setting bigger fires deeper within Wilderness in Enchanted Valley and "burning as much of the wooden components as possible" and "want it torn down and burned at the site.")

[Ski]

Thursday February 15, 2018 18:37 PST Olympic National Park News Release Public Invited to Provide Input on Draft Alternatives for Olympic National Park Fire Management Plan Forks Public Meeting Added to Schedule; Comments Accepted Through March 2nd The National Park Service invites the public to review and provide input in developing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a revised Wildland Fire Management Plan (FMP) for Olympic National Park. The preliminary alternatives can be reviewed at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/FMPscoping. The park’s purpose in taking action is to update the FMP in order to meet the most current NPS and federal policies. The need for taking action is to have a plan that provides park managers the most current direction and guidance to assist when making decisions related to wildland fire activities. The NPS proposes two alternatives for examination in the EA. The no action alternative would maintain the current strategy as outlined in the 2005 FMP. Alternative B would provide updates to the FMP that would: - bring the FMP into conformance with current NPS wildland fire policy directives and standards; - provide the park with the flexibility to manage fire in accordance with current federal wildland fire management policies and guidance adopted since the publication of the 2005 FMP; - improve overall management of planned and unplanned ignitions, and non-fire fuel treatments to reflect wildfire experiences of the past decade; and fully acknowledge wildfire as an ecological process within the park. A schedule of public meetings was announced on January 31, 2018 for Quilcene, Amanda Park, and Port Angeles. The Quilcene public meeting was held February 15. A public meeting in Forks is now scheduled for February 28. AMANDA PARK Tuesday, February 20, 2018 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Timberland Regional Library 6118 US Highway 101 Amanda Park, WA 98526 Phone: (360) 288-2725 PORT ANGELES Thursday, February 22, 2018 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm Port Angeles Senior Center 328 E 7th Street Port Angeles, WA 98362 Phone: (360) 457-7004 FORKS Wednesday, February 28, 2018 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm Washington Department of Natural Resources- Olympic Region Office 411 Tillicum Lane Forks, WA 98331 Phone: (360) 374-2800 At each meeting, there will be a short presentation followed by an open house where staff will be present to answer questions. The preliminary alternatives are available for review and comment at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/FMPscoping. Comments will also be accepted during scheduled public meetings or can be mailed or hand-delivered to: Superintendent, Olympic National Park – FMP Scoping, 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA 98362. Comments submitted by phone or email will not be accepted. Comments submitted by individuals or organizations on behalf of other individuals or organizations also will not be accepted.* You should be aware that your entire comment – including personal identifying information such as your address, phone number, and email address – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. -NPS- (* emphasis added)

[Pyrites]

I went to a presentation at Port Angeles. NPS ONP sent Fire, Park Superintendent and others. Several people with property adjacent to the park wanted assurane forest fire wouldn’t burn their home down. Park staff said any fire headed towards private property would be fought. Usual provisio that they would only do so at if FF not put at undo risk. Fire staff discussed that they’ve made it more explicit that it is not safe to fight fires in big parts of park. Think big mid-slope areas with continuous forest canopy. (Nowhere to retreat to (safety zones) if things go bad.) They want to use different criteria in wilderness than non-wilderness. Almost all of park is wilderness. They also want to manage a given fire with two different criteria. Imagine east side of a substantial fire just being monitored. At the same fire FF’s using a strategy to confine spread to west. They have a goal over a ten year period of having average of 1,200 acres burn/year. This results well less than a 30-100 year fire return cycle they mention as a target. When I inquired NPS said they had considered 5,000 acres as target. I think their afraid of reaction to a once a generation 30 or 50k acre fire. It appeared that already they would not have sent FF’s to the recent Paradise Fire in the E end of the Queets. FMO certainly would not jump the fire again. Landing on large cobble was excessive risk. NPS mentioned prairies in coastal spruce belt. 1,000 year fire cycle? They mentioned that maintaining the prairies was more a wilderness regulation issue. I listened and did not hear any mention that any of local Tribes had brought issue up to Park. If you go to site Ski put up they’ve added more content. Best.

[RodF]

Thanks for the interesting report, Pyrites.

[Pyrites]

When I asked about the 1,200 acres question there were eyes back and forth across the room amongst the NPS folks. Not exactly like a mtg among two opposing law firms. I’m not sure they were really prepped to have back of napkin math types present. They also said if trend is towards hotter weather episodes they’d rather burn it now, than later in really dry times.