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Vegetative Fuels Management Mapping

This project is a collaboration amongst land stewards, land managers, and agencies coordinated by Hawaii Wildfire to collect information about existing vegetative fuels management efforts and to identify and prioritize future vegetative management projects for the purpose of reducing fire risk across Hawaii’s landscapes.

There are many types of vegetative fuels management activities currently in place across the Hawaiian Islands including:

• Fire breaks and fire roads which provide access for fire suppression efforts.

• Fuels reduction activities such as roadside mowing, grazing fuel breaks, and ladder fuel reduction thinning to name a few.

• Fuel and type conversion activities whereby land stewards transition an area with high fire risk vegetation to lower fire risk through implementing shaded greenbreaks, or restoration of water features such as loʻi or riparian corridors, restoration of dryland forest and shrubland, or transitioning from abandoned to managed agriculture for example.

Mapping Workshops:

In 2015, Hawaii Wildfire’s Technical Advisory Committee, comprised of over 35 fire and natural resource experts from across the state, discussed Hawaii’s lack of consolidated landscape-level information on vegetative fire fuels treatments. Hawaii Wildfire prioritized addressing this issue due to its importance toward furthering activities to protect natural resources and communities from wildfire. Funded by State Grant-in-Aid and US Forest Service grants, Hawaii Wildfire spent 2018 coordinating workshops to develop island-by-island vegetative fire fuels management maps.

With your help and with the information you provide, this project will result in landscape-scale maps to:

• Improve ability of landowners & land managers to plan projects and secure funding for vegetative fuels management efforts;

• Identify and communicate vegetative fuels management needs and priorities;

• Enhance communication among partners, neighbors, and funders by providing visual aids and a collaborative workshop process; and,

• Maximize fire protection by using resources for highest shared priorities.