Fire Management Plan for Bandelier National Monument

Bandelier National Monument » Fire Management Plan for Bandelier National Monument » Document List

The National Park Service (NPS) will be preparing a new fire management plan and environmental assessment (EA) for Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. The proposed fire management plan is intended to be both strategic and operational, guiding the full range of wildland fire program activities that support land and resource management objectives.

The purpose of the proposed Fire Management Plan for Bandelier National Monument is to comply with new national and National Park Service (NPS) policies, and to incorporate new scientific information into fire management planning within parks. Since the monument's last Fire Management Plan was prepared in 2005, high-intensity fires, long periods of drought, and severe flooding have resulted in changes to the ecosystem that are not reflected in that past plan. In preparing a new Fire Management Plan for Bandelier, the NPS seeks to provide management direction that reflects these environmental changes and complies with the latest wildland fire management policies. In addition, the new fire management plan intends to provide management direction that improves the ability to achieve the following goals:

- Provide for the preservation, protection, understanding, and enjoyment of the natural and cultural resources of Bandelier National Monument through an integrated program where management activities support ecosystem structures and functions consistent with cultural resource preservation needs.

- Educate, inform, consult, collaborate, and maintain cooperative fire planning and management with other agencies, landowners, and local communities.

- Promote ecosystem resiliency using fire management tools.

- Where feasible and appropriate, encourage collaborative cross-boundary and interagency fire management coordination that identifies and mitigates hazards related to wildland fire.

An environmental assessment will be prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to provide the decision-making framework that 1) analyzes a reasonable range of alternatives to meet project objectives, 2) evaluates issues and impacts to monument resources and values, and 3) identifies mitigation measures to lessen the degree or extent of these impacts.

Contact Information

Janice Stroud-Settles, NEPA Specialist
(505) 672-3861, ext. 706