The Applied Wildland Fire Research in Support of Project Level Hazardous Fuels Planning Project was initiated as a pilot project by the U.S. Forest Service in response to the need for tools and information useful for planning site-specific fuel (vegetation) treatment projects.

• Purpose

  The project's purpose is to provide decision support in the form of research information and new tools for project-level fuels planning. Our goal is to improve access and use of research information. The synthesis represents the collective judgment of the most knowledgeable scientific experts in forest, wildlife and plant ecology, fire behavior, fire ecology, social science and other fields.
  
  

• Target Audience

  Target audiences for the products of this effort include fuels management specialists, resource specialists, planning team leaders, and your public partners.
  
  

• Scale and Scope

  Information, other than social science research, was developed for application at the stand level. The information gathered by the project primarily addresses fuel and forest conditions of the dry inland forests of the western United States: those dominated by ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, dry grand fir/white fir, and dry lodgepole pine potential vegetation types.
  
  

• Intented Use

  The information is intended to be helpful within this forest type regardless of ownership. In addition, many of the tools and summaries (including social science findings, MyFuel Treatment Planner, Smoke Impact Spreadsheet, WEPP-FuME, and the Understory Response Model) should have direct applicability to hazardous fuel planning activities throughout the United States.
  
  

• Models

  As is the case in the use of all models and information developed for specific purposes, our tools should be used with a full understanding of the limitations and applicability.
  
  

• Acknowledgements

  This project would not have been possible were it not for the vision and financial support of Washington Office Fire and Aviation Management. This unique partnership project brought together researchers and land managers from around the country to work on a set of problems common to those interested in the restoration and management of the dry forests of the West.