Hazardous Fuels Program of Work; DD: 4/1/2007

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

February 27, 2007

In Reply Refer To:
9210 (FA-600) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 03/06/2007
Instruction Memorandum No. 2007-075
Expires: 09/30/2008

To: State Directors

From: Acting Director, Bureau of Land Management

Subject: Hazardous Fuels Program of Work DD: 4/1/2007

Program Area: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) applies to the Hazardous Fuels Reduction Non-Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) subactivity 2823, and WUI subactivity 2824. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) programs that promote the protection, maintenance and/or restoration of healthy functioning plant communities will also benefit from this action.

Purpose: This IM replaces Washington Office (WO) IM No. 2005-200, “Hazardous Fuels Five Year Program of Work,” by providing new direction and guidance in developing and completing a 3-year program of work and work force and support cost budget submissions.
Policy/Action: State Directors are to utilize and update the data developed in their previous program of work and workforce and budget submission to prepare a 3-year program of work and budget submission for Fiscal_Years (FY) 2008 – 2010.
The program of work and budget submission will prioritize activities and treatments; identify risk ratings for communities at risk and Fire Management Units (FMUs); and identify workforce and other budget needs. The program of work must also follow the directions in IM No. 2007-006, “Developing a Fiscal_Year (FY) 2008 Integrated Program of Work Across Vegetation Management Programs,” and must reflect an interdisciplinary process that supports land use and fire management plans, other guidance, and collaboration with local, tribal, state, and Federal agencies, as well as interested stakeholders.
States will identify their program of work and budget needs based on their FY 2007 funding and workload targets. States should also assess their capability to increase accomplishments beyond 2007 targets, up to 20 percent. That is, please tell us what it would cost to accomplish 20 percent more acres than are assigned currently for FY 2007, including the necessary planning and monitoring costs. States will complete the workforce and budget submission utilizing the attached BLM Fuels Program Organization Workforce and Operations Support Costs Business
Rules (Attachment 1), Employee Cost Estimation Table (Attachment 2) and Workforce and Support Costs Summary worksheets (Attachment 3). States should use their previously submitted workforce and budget submission documents to help in completing these worksheets. Each state’s previously submitted documents can be downloaded electronically from http://web.blm.gov/internal/fire/budget/. Click on the Fuels Analysis Files icon to access your states file.
The 3-year program of work will be entered into the National Fire Plan Operations Reporting System (NFPORS). The workforce and support costs budget submissions will be submitted separately to the Fire Planning and Fuels Management Division (FA-600). State submissions are to include the above tables and worksheets.
States are to ensure that each project is prioritized at the local level for each FY using a ranking process that identifies High (H), Moderate (M), and Low (L) priorities. The priorities identified in the previous program of work submission should be reviewed, updated as needed, and utilized.
When entering the 3-year program of work into NFPORS, please enter the following into the Local Identifier field at the Activity and Treatment level: Project Number, Risk Rating (RR) and Local Priority (LP); e.g., HA76, RR – H, LP – M. If a fuels project number has not been assigned (as may be the case with community assistance projects), enter four capital Xs (XXXX) followed by the risk rating and local priority.
States should apply risk ratings from community wildland fire protection plans or utilize the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategies (RAMS) and Fuels Pro program, or equivalent methods for WUI projects (including community assistance). Risk ratings (developed in RAMS or equivalent) for FMUs should be applied to non-WUI projects. Please submit documentation that describes the risk assessment process used to determine a rating if an equivalent method is used.
The Interdisciplinary Management Team will analyze the 3-year program of work and budget submission data and propose a national program of work that promotes the Department of the Interior (DOI) and BLM Director’s priorities. The concurrently issued IM: “Strategic Hazardous Fuels Reduction Funding Initiative” describes the process that will take place.
The workforce and budget submission will be analyzed to identify possible organizational discrepancies among the states and to assess our current status under the 2001 Annual Work Plan, Office Specific Directions (Pages 111-138), regarding funding for specialist positions.

Time frame: This guidance takes effect on the date of issuance. The completed program of work identified in NFPORS and budget submission documents are due April 1, 2007.

Budget Impact: State and Field Offices will undergo a moderate workload to compile the requested information. There is no immediate budget impact on FY 2007; however, the required submissions will be used to help establish funding allocations and accomplishment targets for FY 2008 – FY 2010.

Background: The IM No. 2005-200 provided guidance for state submissions of their 5-year program of work to mitigate risks to communities, the environment, and provide economic opportunities for rural communities. States developed and submitted a 5-year program of work for FY 2006 – FY 2010. States also developed a workforce and budget submission related to their 5-year program of work. The workforce submission included costs associated with the program such as training, travel, supplies and other costs that could not be charged to a specific project.
Results from the initial program of work showed that identifying workload in years four and five could not be estimated accurately. An accurate 3-year program of work and budget submission is achievable and can be used to develop national budget justifications, to prioritize allocations, and to establish base funding and non-project costs.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: The BLM Handbook 9213 H-1, Fuels Management Chapter, Section titled “Fuels Treatment Program Development and Collaboration Process.”

Coordination: This IM is the result of coordination by the Office of Fire & Aviation Directorate (OF&A) (WO-400), the DOI Office of Wildland Fire Coordination, the Renewable Resources and Planning Directorate (WO-200), and State Offices.

Contacts: Questions regarding this subject should be addressed to David Mueller, Fuels Management Specialist, OF&A at 208-387-5151; or Roshelle Pederson, Management Analyst, OF&A at 208-387-5162.

Union: Offices with a union must follow negotiated procedures.

Signed by:
Authenticated by:
Henri R. Bisson
Robert M. Williams
Acting, Director
Division of IRM Governance,WO-560

3 Attachments
1 - BLM Fuels Program Organization Workforce and Operations Support Costs (3 pp)
2 - FY 2007 Employee Cost Estimation Table (4 pp)
3 - State Fuels Base Cost Summary Worksheets (3 pp)