![](media/image1.png){width="1.0in" height="1.0104166666666667in"}United
States Department of the Interior

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

1849 C Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20240

**\*\*ELECTRONIC COPY ONLY -- NO HARD COPY TO FOLLOW\*\***

[in reply refer to:]{.smallcaps}

Y14 (9560)

**January 15, 2009**

Memorandum

To: Regional Directors

> Attention: Superintendents

From: Associate Director, Visitor and Resource Protection **/s/ Karen
Taylor-Goodrich**

Subject: FY2009 Wildland Fire Severity Program Oversight

The Department of the Interior (DOI) imposed a cap on severity
authorizations and expenditures in FY2007 due to the steady and
significant increase in these expenditures over the previous six years.
In 2006, the DOI bureaus authorized \$76 million in severity, which was
a 58% augmentation of initial response resources within the Preparedness
appropriation. In FY 2009, National Park Service (NPS) severity
authorizations will be capped at \$3,968,000. In order to manage under
the cap, the following procedures will be implemented.

-   Individual requests for each unit may not be approved for more than
    50% of the total Preparedness allocation for that unit.

-   Regional offices will notify the Fire Management Program Center
    (FMPC) Budget Analyst within two days for each severity request
    approval.

-   Regional offices will report the status of total authorizations and
    expenditures to the FMPC Budget Analyst every two weeks from the
    date of the most current authorization so that any projected excess
    authorization under the cap can be rescinded and redirected as
    needed.

-   A new sub-activity for severity, PWE E14, has been added to the NPS
    financial system. This PWE is to be used for severity events only.

> In addition to the new procedures listed above, the following
> oversight procedures will also occur.

-   DOI Fire Directors will re-negotiate bureau-specific authorization
    caps within the DOI cap as needed. In circumstances of extraordinary
    fire potential, the bureaus will work with the Office of Wildland
    Fire Coordination and request an increase in the DOI severity cap.

-   NPS resources used to fill a Forest Service severity order will be
    outside the cap.

-   Severity expenditures will be subject to audit to ensure that
    severity resources remained available to augment local resources and
    that the type and duration of resources generally matched the
    authorized severity plan and severity conditions.

While these additions are added to the severity request requirements, it
is important to continue to follow the existing requirements when making
a severity request.

-   Request must comply with the general requirements in RM-18 and the
    Interagency Standards for Fire and Aviation Operations (Red Book),
    unless superseded by this directive.

-   Severity requests may cover a maximum of 30 days. Supplemental
    requests may be submitted if severity conditions persist. Unless
    supplemental requests are approved, any unused severity
    authorization will expire after 30 days.

-   Severity justifications must identify collaboration and coordination
    with interagency partners and the general severity conditions within
    the geographic area.

-   Regional Directors may approve severity requests for NPS individual
    units up to \$100,000, in total for each unit, per fiscal year.

-   The Chief, Division of Fire and Aviation Management, will approve
    individual or cumulative requests for over \$100,000, for individual
    NPS units.

Additional direction, templates, and format may be found at:
http://www.nifc.gov/policies/red_book/2009/ISFR.doc.

Questions may be directed to National Fire Operations Program Leader,
Dan Buckley, at 208-387-5174; Fire Program Planning Leader, Jeff Scott,
at 208-387-5210; or Budget Analyst, Jeanette Butler, at 208-387-5141.

cc: Associate Regional Directors, Operations

Regional Fire Management Officers

Dan Buckley, FMPC

Jeanette Butler, FMPC