A  C-130 uses a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System to drop red-colored retardant over a fire. MAFFS was established by Congress in the early 1970s to better fight major fires. (U.S. Air Force Photo) 

As the nation gears up for another fire season, Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell warned that the seasons are hotter, drier and longer thanks to the changing climate. Tidwell said fire seasons are more than 60 days longer than when he was a firefighter.  Read more.

MAFFS

The U.S. Forest Service is mobilizing two Department of Defense C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems, known as MAFFS, to assist with wildfire suppression efforts in Colorado and elsewhere in the West as needed. ... Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems are portable fire retardant delivery systems that can be inserted into military C-130 aircraft to convert them into large airtankers when needed.   Read more.

Policy change

In a policy change prompted by the devastating 2009 Station fire, for the first time in 40 years, the Forest Service has a helicopter and fixed-wing plane ready to battle wildfires at night.  Read more.

Hiring

The Forest Service expects to hire about 10,000 firefighters this year, which will be 500 fewer firefighters than last year, due to automatic spending cuts imposed by Congress. The agency will still be able to fight wildfires across the West Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell said, in part because three new air tankers are being put into service.  With a highly mobile workforce and a focus on high-risk areas, "it is likely that high levels of initial attack success will continue."  Read more.

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WASHINGTON--U.S. Forest Service researchers recently found that about 90 percent of fuel reduction treatments on national forests were effective in reducing the intensity of wildfire while also allowing for better wildfire control.

The report, "Wildfire, Wildlands, and People: Understanding and Preparing for Wildfire in the Wildland-Urban Interface," synthesizes the latest research and provides examples of what communities in the wildland-urban interface can do to reduce their risk by becoming "fire adapted." Aimed at community planners, the report also underscores the important roles that homeowners and local, state, and federal governments play in reducing risk and describes available tools and resources. Read more.

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Pennsylvania Wardens Receive National Award for Fire Prevention Efforts

NA S&PF Deputy Director Jim Barresi, second from left, stands with members of the Wardens Helping in Prevention, after presenting them with a Bronze Smokey Bear Award at a Union County, PA, fire training camp. 

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa.--The national Bronze Smokey Bear Award was presented on May 31st to Wardens Helping in Prevention (WHIP), which was founded in 1988 by the Pennsylvania Fire Prevention Action Team. 

The Smokey Bear Award, the highest national honor, has been given for outstanding work in wildland fire prevention since 1957. The gold, silver, and bronze levels differ only in the geographic sphere of the nominated work. The bronze award is given for service within a state, over a period of at least 2 years.

The all-volunteer WHIP team created a manual that enables them to better incorporate public education into their firefighting efforts. The program focuses on lesson plans that develop basic leadership skills and teaching techniques.  The manual incorporates material for all ages. The volunteers logged over 41,000 days, reaching almost 15 million people with their wildfire prevention message.

The annual awards are sponsored by the National Association of State Foresters, the USDA Forest Service, and the Advertising Council. 

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GREEN BAY, Wis.--The Green Bay Packers First Downs for Trees program, currently in its third year, donated a total of 749 trees to 19 local communities in 2013 based on the team's 341 first downs last season.  Read more.

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Update of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestations

To see counties infested by hemlock woolly adelgid, view an updated distribution map or listing by state.

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More Emerald Ash Borer Sites in New York and Connecticut

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been confirmed for the first time in Delaware and Otsego counties [New York] by the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens announced. Read more.

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) announced today that the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) has been detected in another Connecticut town--Hamden--so this invasive insect has now been found in nine Connecticut towns, all in New Haven County. Read more.

Chinese Wasps Are Taking on the Emerald Ash Borer

A parasitoid wasp from China is being used to control the emerald ash borer. (Photo: USDA Forest Service) 

WASHINGTON--The emerald ash borer (EAB), a relatively new invasive insect pest, has killed tens of millions of ash trees throughout the eastern United States since it was first detected in 2002 in Michigan and Canada. This insect has the potential to kill an estimated seven billion ash trees in urban and rural forests and could cause tens of billions of dollars in damage.

To control the EAB, research on its natural enemies was initiated shortly after its discovery, resulting in a classical biological control program using three parasitoid wasps native to northern China, where the EAB populations in the US likely originated. After research on the biology, laboratory rearing, and host specificity of the three parasitoid species was completed in 2007, federal and state regulatory agencies approved their environmental release in more than a dozen states. Read more.

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