Potential operational delineations: New horizons for proactive, risk‑informed strategic land and fire management

Matthew P. Thompson; Christopher D. O'Connor; Benjamin M. Gannon; Michael D. Caggiano; Christopher J. Dunn; Courtney A. Schultz; David E. Calkin; Bradley Pietruszka; S. Michelle Greiner; Richard Stratton; Jeffrey T. Morisette

doi:10.1186/s42408-022-00139-2

Treesearch

Potential operational delineations: New horizons for proactive, risk‑informed strategic land and fire management

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Matthew P. Thompson, Christopher D. O'Connor, Benjamin M. Gannon, Michael D. Caggiano, Christopher J. Dunn, Courtney A. Schultz, David E. Calkin, Bradley Pietruszka, S. Michelle Greiner, Richard Stratton, Jeffrey T. Morisette

Year:

2022

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-022-00139-2

Source:

Fire Ecology. 18:17.

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Abstract

The PODs (potential operational delineations) concept is an adaptive framework for cross-boundary and collaborative land and fire management planning. Use of PODs is increasingly recognized as a best practice, and PODs are seeing growing interest from federal, state, local, tribal, and non-governmental organizations. Early evidence suggests PODs provide utility for planning, communication, coordination, prioritization, incident response strategy development, and fuels mitigation and forest restoration. Recent legislative action codifies the importance of PODs by devoting substantial financial resources to their expansion. The intent of this paper is to explore new horizons that would help land and fire management organizations better address risks and capitalize on opportunities. Specifically, we focus on how PODs are a natural platform for improvement related to two core elements of risk management: how we leverage preparation and foresight to better prepare for the future; and how we learn from the past to better understand and improve performance and its alignment with strategy.

Keywords

planning, risk, boundary spanning, climate change, performance measurement, prioritization, incident response, modeling, technology transfer

Citation

Thompson, Matthew P.; O’Connor, Christopher D.; Gannon, Benjamin M.; Caggiano, Michael D.; Dunn, Christopher J.; Schultz, Courtney A.; Calkin, David E.; Pietruszka, Bradley; Greiner, S. Michelle; Stratton, Richard; Morisette, Jeffrey T. 2022. Potential operational delineations: New horizons for proactive, risk‑informed strategic land and fire management. Fire Ecology. 18:17.