National Dispatch Boundaries Interactive Map - Wildland Fire

[Paysonscanner]

Hi PS,
I heard recently that the BLM Districts in Colorado were being re-aligned to match with the dispatch areas. That will certainly make things smoother. I don't know if that was just Colorado or if that is coming to other states as well.

In other states the BLM and other agencies have agreed on dispatch boundaries that didn't split up districts into different dispatch centers. In many cases if they split up a BLM district they do it along field office boundary lines. In Nevada the BLM districts form the dispatch center boundaries and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is dispatched by 5 different centers. A lot depends on U.S. Forest Service boundaries as well. Most national forests don't want to be split up either. Whether a national forest is compact, or have separated parcels of land is another consideration. Workloads in fire management and other resource functions (timber, range, recreation, etc.) can also be factors. What might make sense to the rest of us may not make sense for the employees of the agencies.

 

[es93546]

There are other reasons for BLM Districts and Field Offices to set boundaries that are more significant than fire. Management by watersheds and ecosystems is the preferred way of operating. Back in the late 70's after the Organic Act for the BLM was passed, the BLM wanted to use county boundaries to organize its districts and field offices. This did not consider that county boundaries can often be quite arbitrary and slice watersheds and ecosystems into illogical parcels. Drawing lines on maps is often quite difficult when multiple objectives are involved.