January 29, 2013
2010 Fire and Plant Worksite Report
General Guidelines At minimum, cover each of the topics highlighted below. You may choose to add additional sections based on the work that you are doing. You do not have to follow the order that these topics are presented in below. The number of pages recommended in parenthesis after each heading is simply a guideline. You do not have to fall within the listed page range. Please use a standard font (i.e. Arial or Times New Roman 12 point) and 1.5 spacing. Write the text using a third person narrative rather than a first person narrative. Write as if you are describing the team/work as an outsider. This means that you should not use the words we, us, our, I, you, etc. Also, when describing the work that you did, write in the past tense; by the time you are finished writing the document, it will have already happened. Lastly, try to include only factual information, not subjective statements.
Site introduction (1-5 Pages):
o Intro: Who did the work (you and/or your team) and who did you work with (agency/tribal staff)
o Location: Where was the work was done. Include a description of the forest, reservation, or region.
o Work: Briefly describe the work/project goals and objectives.
Map of Work Location and/or Plots (1 Map): Include a full page map that clearly shows the reservation/forest boundaries and plots. If you worked on multiple reservations/forests that don’t fit onto a single page, you can create a map for each reservation/forest. The map should be copied into your document as an image so that I can move it around and change the size if I need to. The map should have a north arrow, legend/key, scale, and title (I.e. FIREMON 2009-Dixie National Forest).
Description of Project(s) and/or Data Collection Process (1-3 Pages): Describe the project work that was completed and methods used. If data was collected, describe the data collection methods and the purpose of the data. Mention any unique aspects of the methods used or adaptations that were made. If you collected data on plots, provide a diagram of your plot layout.
Work Accomplishments (1-2 Pages): Provide a list, table, or narrative of your work-related accomplishments. Include plot numbers if you collected data. Be sure to differentiate between new plots established and existing plots re-visited.
Summary of Findings (1-3 Pages): Summarize the findings or analyze the data associated with your project if you are able to do so.
Photographs (10 Photos): Incorporate a minimum of 10 photos into your report. At minimum, provide 1 team photo (in which you can see everyone’s face), 3 photos of field work, 1 scenery photo, and the rest can be highlights or unique photos from the season. Each photo should have a 1 sentence description of who is in the photo, where it was taken, and what is occurring. At least 2 of the photos should have a quote from a person in the picture. Attempt to capture photos that have the SCA logo in them.
IP/Team Highlights (1-2 Pages): Include intro paragraph that leads into a bulleted list of highlights from the season. Highlights should include field accomplishments, trainings attended, and activities (cultural, community, service, outreach, etc.) participated in. Be sure to include things not necessarily related to work (i.e. planted a garden, visited a nearby national monument, replaced standard bulbs with compact fluorescents, etc.). The bulleted list can be brief, but descriptive.
Accomplished Goals and Outcomes (1-2 pages): Document in bulleted part of table form how you accomplished the goals and objects set out in your work plan. Record specific measurable outcomes for: Environmental Stewardship; Service Learning; Community Outreach and Education and Leadership Development.
Resources (½ - 1 Page) Provide a list or description of resources that you used to help you accomplish your job. Resources can include books, people, websites, local publications, GIS layers, etc. Resources associated with local plant identification are particularly useful.
Field/Office Operations (½ - 1 Page) Describe the typical schedule that you worked (i.e. 8 day hitch, 10 hour day, 4-day week, etc.). Provide details associated with planning and carrying out field work and/or hitches. Include set-up, equipment, locations, etc. If you worked out of an office, provide details of the office and location.
Equipment and Supplies (½ - 1 Page) Provide a list of all equipment and supplies necessary for the work that you completed.
Primary Contacts (½ - 2 Pages) List the names and contact information of the individuals that you worked with on a regular basis. Provide a name, title, address, phone number, and e-mail address for each individual.
Community Information (1-2 Pages) Provide a list of local things to do and see. You might even list a few of your favorite restaurants. If you didn’t describe your community under the Site Introduction on account of living and working in different locations, provide a brief description of your community here.
Distribution of Results (½ - 1 Page) Document the distribution of project deliverables including reports, data, and photos. Describe who the deliverables were handed off to and the format in which they were handed off.
Considerations for Future teams: (1-2 Pages) Details ways that future teams could improve the completion of there goals. This could data collection, methods employed in the field, or equipment and supplies.
Acknowledgements (½ - 1 Page) Acknowledge individuals that have led your team to a successful season. Include names and describe their contribution to your success.
Writing Samples
Site Introduction Sample
“The Coeur d’Alene Reservation is a 345,000 acre reservation situated in Northern Idaho on the Washington state border. Mixed conifer forests and Palouse prairies are the primary vegetation types within the reservation boundaries. Merchantable timber occupies approximately 26,000 acres of lands managed by the Coeur d’Alene tribe. While utilization of natural resources such as timber and agricultural lands contribute significantly to the economic viability of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the main source of income is the Coeur d’Alene Casino.
The reservation is considered “open” ( i.e. members of other tribes and non-Native individuals may live and work on reservation lands) and much of the land is owned or entrusted to private citizens. Currently there are slightly less than 2000 enrolled Coeur d’Alene Tribal Members. The official Coeur d’Alene website (www.cdatribe.com) is an excellent source of further information about the reservation and the history of the tribe.
The SCA and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe have successfully collaborated on several Fire Monitoring projects. 2007 marks the third consecutive year in which a FIREMON team has worked with the Forestry, Fire, and Fuels division of the Natural Resource Department. Patrick Warker, Acting Fuels Planner for the tribe, was responsible for the oversight and overall structure of the 2007 FIREMON season. Project Leader, Heather Lyons supervised four interns - Meg Chapman, Joey Deneke, Kyle Ochs, and Karen Poutier – during the six month program. Two Tribal Youths, Anthony Lowley and Andrew Boyd, also worked with the SCA crew during the summer months. Intern housing was located in Cave Bay near Worley, Idaho. Cave Bay is a small community located between the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Offices in Plummer, ID to the south and the city of Coeur d'Alene, ID to the north.
Three primary tasks were assigned to the CDA FIREMON team. Initially the crew focused on the development and implementation of Photo Monitoring sampling with the objective of improving the tracking and increasing the effectiveness of the tribe’s thinning operations in mind. Later in the season, emphasis shifted to post-treatment monitoring of previously established FIREMON plots in areas where the tribe has recently performed thinning treatments. Finally, inadequately marked FIREMON plots were reestablished to assist with future monitoring efforts. Additionally, a substantial portion of the internship was used to disseminate Fire Educational material, collect and create supplementary data and associated reports for the tribe, as well as attending community outreach events.”
Plot Map Sample
Sample Photo 1
Tree planting at Middle Village (Joel Grant, Orman Waukau, Phil Vandenberg, Laurel Triatik).
Sample Photo 2
Kyle Ochs checks the alignment of a photo point on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation.
Sample Photo 3
“The work is challenging at times, but there is still no better office than the great outdoors!” JR Boehrs
Data Collection Process Sample
The 2007 Coeur d’Alene FIREMON Team focused on three primary tasks – establishing Photo Monitoring plots; sampling previously established FIREMON plots; and reestablishing inadequately marked FIREMON plots.
Photo Monitoring Photo Monitoring is a quick, effective, and easily replicated sampling strategy that is ideal for documenting significant changes in vegetation over time. The Coeur d’Alene team assisted the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Fuels Department with the development of a Photo Monitoring sampling program based on the work of Hall (2002). The Fuels Department is interested in reducing fuels as a means of lowering fire risk in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), which comprises much of the Coeur d’Alene reservation. Reduced shrub cover also promotes increased timber growth. Privately contracted timber harvesting is an important source of income for tribal forestry.
More than 120 Photo Monitoring plots were established in stands slated for fuels reduction treatments during 2007. The photos obtained from these plots will serve as baseline images of pre-treatment conditions. During the summer of 2008, a post-treatment photo series is scheduled to be taken at each plot. Estimates of pre- and post-treatment shrub cover can then be calculated to determine if fuels have been reduced to acceptable levels, or if further fuels treatments are necessary.
FIREMON Plots The 2007 Coeur d’Alene FIREMON team was responsible for re-sampling Fire Effects Monitoring and Inventory (FIREMON) plots that were initially sampled in 2005/2006 and have subsequently undergone fuels reduction treatments and/or over-story logging. Re-measurement of these plots focused on detecting significant changes in fuel loads (tons/acre) and vegetation cover between pre- and post-treatments. Four FIREMON sampling methods – Plot Description, Tree Data, Fuel Load, and Species Composition – were collected at each site. Detailed instructions for each methodology are located at the official FIREMON website (http://frames.nbii.gov/firemon). Direct comparisons between 2007 post-treatment data and previous year’s pre-treatment site conditions will be used to guide future forest management plans.
Plot Remarking Nearly 100 plots from previous SCA field seasons were reestablished in order to reduce navigational challenges and increase the efficiency of future monitoring efforts. The center conduit of each plot was located, painted green, and a bearing tree was established. The tree was marked with a green ring and flagged with orange and black flagging. A bearing tag was attached to the tree with plot ID information and directions to the center conduit that included bearing and distance.
Highlights Sample
Summer kept the team on the move with attending additional training opportunities, participating in community outreach and fire education events, and helping the tribe with fire suppression activities. As the field season progressed, weekend activities lessened and team members had additional time for personal trips. Listed below are some of the more memorable activities – both work and play – that the team enjoyed throughout the season.
§ Learned and implemented the Kotar Habitat Typing methodology
§ 40 additional plots for Penn State’s dendrochronology study were measured
§ Learned dendrochronology methodology to describe historical fire frequency, severity, and intensity; this type of research is essential to supporting the tribal goal of ecological restoration
§ Learned to reliably identify 43 species of trees
§ Fire Regime Condition Class trainings were completed by crewmembers and certificates were earned
§ Certificates in Wilderness First Aid, CPR, and Off Road Driving were obtained during the intern training program
§ Trail clean up on the Lake Simtustus trail in Madras, OR, collecting Garbage from the trail.
§ During the Warm Springs Agency Complex Fire the Warm Springs FIREMON team rolled fire hose and helped fill resource orders with the Warm Springs Wildland Fire Logistics/Warehouse folks.
§ The Warm Springs FIREMON team was visited by Kerry Stevens, the BIA’s NW Regional Fire Ecologist, and Laura Atkins, a Conservation intern with the SCA based in the Portland BIA office. The team introduced Laura to the basics of FIREMON on Warm Springs she will be writing an article in Smoke Signals about SCA FIREMON teams in the Pacific Northwest Region.
§ Part of the Warm Springs FIREMON team Helped out with the Mt. Rainier recovery meeting with the Coeur d’ Alene and Yakama FIREMON teams to help build campsites and build trails.
§ CFI techniques training
§ Completed S130/S190- Basic Wildland Firefighter
§ Completed S212 –Power saws
Poor Language Sample
An excerpt from Data Collection section of a former team:
“After we are ready to go, we’ll plan on leaving the house around 8 am; everyone is a bit different in the morning so being sensitive to each others needs was key. On the way to the field is a great time to go over safety reminders, goals, and objectives for the day. Often the commute turns into a break, so a snooze here and there is a good thing. Arrival to a site often takes some good memory, but usually doesn’t cause too much of a stir. The plots are all out there, now it’s time to begin field work.”
Note the following common errors in above text: Written in 1st person, subjective, informal, and unprofessional.
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