About
Background:
The SE FireMap is built to improve landscape conservation efforts and fire management. More effective spatial wildland fire tracking and a better understanding of fire patterns can benefit both public and private lands in the Southeast.
The beta SE FireMap was released in March 2021 as a final product of the Scoping Phase. Tall Timbers Research, Inc. (TTR) led this effort with support from partners and the Technical Oversight Team (including TLA, SERPPAS, and ALRI). In addition to the beta version of the SE FireMap, deliverables from the Scoping Phase included recommendations on mapping products and tools to reference, proposed methodologies, priority databases to test, and budget estimates for the next phase. The Scoping Phase was funded by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Working Lands for Wildlife program under an agreement with the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities.
In 2022, NRCS funded a second proposal from Tall Timbers Research and the U.S. Geological Survey to develop an improved SE FireMap Version 2.0 is anticipated by 2025. Feedback from users on the beta Version 1.0 will be brought into updates made in this next phase.
Importance of the SE FireMap:
Improved accuracy in the SE FireMap Version 2.0 will support better decision-making and allow wildland fire partners to work smarter together. With more precise tracking and information on historic fire patterns, fire partners will be able to reliably prioritize geographies where they ought to focus time, staff, and funding to support high-impact projects.
Fire is key to healthy native landscapes in the Southeast. It is required to keep working lands healthy, restore the longleaf pine ecosystem, support the Department of Defense’s military and training missions, conserve endangered and at-risk species, and manage wildfire risk for communities.
Documentation:
SE FireMap Version 1.0 Beta Product Information
Learn more about the dataset development process, attribute descriptions, known issues, limitations, considerations, and references.
SE FireMap Fact Sheet - Technical Version
This document highlights the overall SE FireMap initiative – offering a technical summary of the project’s background, development process, timeline, and objectives.