 Our national wildlands offer a variety of natural, ecological, social and economic values. Management of wildland fire is one activity that occurs to protect these values. In most wildlands, fire is an intricate part of the natural ecosystem and may be allowed to burn to meet resource objectives. In other situations, quick, aggressive suppression of the wildland fire is necessary in order to protect these values. The wildland fire management policy supports programs and activities that are economically viable based upon values to be protected, costs, and the land and resource management objectives. More specifically, when the activity involves fire suppression, that action should be based on firefighter and public safety, resource benefits, minimum costs, and should be commensurate with resource objectives. Past fire protection policy primarily emphasized the need to extinguish all wildland fire ignitions. Today's policy offers a full range of management options and suppression tactics. The policy challenges federal land managers and the firefighter with the definition that protection also includes good land stewardship practices. All federal wildlands must have an approved fire management plan. Within this planning process, a fire management option that best meets land and resource objectives is selected. How that option is implemented depends on environmental conditions existing at the time of the ignition. This means the firefighter shares a major responsibility in choosing good stewardship practices in this implementation phase. Current fire policy emphasizes everyone, agency administrators, resource specialists, and firefighters with a joint responsibility as stewards of the land. Suppression of a wildland fire while maintaining a high standard of caring for the land has often been referred to as MIST, minimum impact suppression tactics. For some, this concept has been interpreted as an attempt to perform the fire suppression activity using tactics less than are necessary to contain the fire in a safe manner. Quite to the contrary, this concept is intended to accomplish the suppression job with a minimum amount of resource damage or long-term adverse impact on the land. Tactics should depend on the existing fire conditions, expected fire behavior, and good judgment on the part of the firefighter. In some situations, monitoring or waiting for a change in fire behavior is the most appropriate safe tactic. The concept of MIST is not intended to compromise safety. Firefighter safety is the number one priority guiding wildland fire policy. This doesn't exclude the fact, however, that hazards may exist for which the firefighter will need to be alert and practice safe mitigating measures. Firefighters should particularly be cautious with burning or partially burned live and dead trees that are allowed to burn out on their own, with unburned fuel between them and the fire's edge, and other identified hazards throughout the fire area. Safety hazards need to be assessed continually. Equally important for firefighter safety is the practice of mitigating measures. Flagging, glow sticks, or an observer could mitigate such hazards as burning trees, snags, and unburned fuels between you and the fire's edge. The firefighter always needs to remember the basic mitigating measures of lookouts, communication, escape routes, and safety zones. The firefighter needs to constantly evaluate the surroundings and changing conditions. What's the existing and predicted fire weather? What's the effect with existing and expected fire behavior? The basics of Heads Up, Look Up, Look Down, and Look Around should be routine mannerisms for the firefighter. The application of minimum impact suppression tactics reinforces constant review and application of the watch-out situations and standard fire orders. Firelining is the art of halting fire spread. It does not mean something has to be constructed. A variety of firelining tactics exist that can halt fire spread without causing long-term impact on the land or resource damage. In some fire situations, allowing the fire to spread into fuels where it's more easily contained with less resource damage and fewer hazards for the firefighter better achieves the fire management policy. Depending on the land and resource objectives, a few additional acres burned is not equivalent to more damage. In surface fuels, consider using natural barriers such as streams, barren and rocky areas, or burned out portions of the fire's edge where tactics of cold trailing and follow-up patrol would serve as adequate fireline. In more continuous fuels, burnout and use of gunny sacks or swatters may be necessary. This tactic results in less environmental impact and requires less suppression effort than if a constructed type fireline was used. When the amount or depth of surface fuels increases, use of a wetline from either nozzle pressure or water with a foaming additive has proven to be an effective fireline tactic. At other times, a combination of water and soil may be necessary to effectively halt the flaming edge. A follow-up tactic of monitoring or cold trailing along the fire's edge ensures this is an effective yet less impacting fireline. When hand-tool constructed fireline is necessary, the width and depth should only be what's commensurate with existing fire behavior. Minimize bucking of downed woody material. Instead, locate and build the line so the material is either consumed or excluded. Fuel situations that create a ladder effect proportionally add to the challenge of halting firespread. However, even in this situation, tactics can be used that result in little impact to the land or resource and effectively accomplish the suppression job. Leave standing snags if they're not a threat to additional firespread or are not in an area where firefighters need to be. Such hazards need to be clearly identified by an observer, flagging or some other warning technique. Prevent trees and snags near the fireline from igniting or being a threat of additional firespread by scraping hot or burning material from around the base. Refrain from excess limning of trees or brush adjacent to the fireline. Consider limning alternate branches and only what is necessary to lessen potential of firespread in these ladder fuels or across the fireline. When removal of some brush or small-sized trees is necessary, cut them flush with the ground surface. Minimize the cutting of larger-sized live or burnt trees and snags. Tactics to first consider are post an observer and allow the tree or snag to burn out or down on its own. Extinguish the fire with water or dirt. Consider bucket water drops from helicopters. Consider falling by blasting if available. Felling by chainsaw should be the last means. Helispot construction is another source for an extensive amount of environmental impact and resource damage. However, mitigating measures can prevent or minimize these impacts too. Is the helispot needed for logistical support or crew shuttle? If for logistical support, consider long-lining and eliminate the need for helispot construction. Pilots are very skilled with this operation. If the helispot is necessary for crew shuttle, first consideration should be a natural safe landing site and allow the crew to walk. When helispot construction is the last alternative, clear instructions as to the amount of tree cutting and bucking should be provided, and mitigating measures can be used to lessen these impacts. Cut and buck only what's necessary for a safe operation. Once firespread is halted, some mop-up activity may be necessary to ensure the fire's edge is secured. This is a good time to evaluate the situation and identify safety hazards within the designated mop-up area. Special concerns are burning trees and snags that are left to burn or partially burnt material on slopes that could easily roll. In light surface fuels, necessary mop-up may be no more than cold-trailing unburned fuels or burnt bullwood near the fire line. If flames or smoke are not evident, consider hand-feeling or use handheld infrared sensors. When a mop-up objective is a certain distance from the fire perimeter, the cold-trailing tactic should still be the first priority in detecting hotspots. Restrict the amount of spading and cutting. Avoid the unnecessary and minimize the necessary. If larger-sized fuels near the fire line are not a threat of creating firespread beyond existing fire perimeters, allow it to burn out. Minimize bucking as a means to check for and extinguish hotspots. Preferably roll the material over. Use a lever with larger-sized bullwood. In wilderness, national parks or areas with natural appearing values refrain from making bone yards. Leave burnt or partially burned material in a random, natural appearing arrangement. When mopping up ladder fuel situations, utilize similar tactics discussed with firelining. Prioritize which hotspots or burning trees and snags pose the most threat of starting fire spread beyond the existing fire perimeter. Allow snags that are no threat toward fire spread to burn themselves down or out. Ensure adequate safety measures are implemented and communicated. If snags or other material threaten additional fire spread, attempt to extinguish the fire with water or dirt. If felling is the only alternative, consider explosives. Impacts can and frequently do occur when people, including firefighters, camp and travel in wilderness or more fragile backcountry areas. In these situations, the preferred leave-no-trace practice is to disperse the use. When there is a large-sized group or repeated use of a site, the preferred practice is to concentrate the use and rely on rehabilitation techniques. First consideration is to avoid establishing campsites in backcountry or wilderness. If that's unavoidable, use existing or previously impacted campsites. If existing campsites are not available, consult your local resource advisor to help identify the most resilient sites in rocky or sandy soils. Always select sites that are unlikely to be observed by backcountry visitors. Avoid camping in wet meadows, along streams or on lakeshores. Minimize disturbance to the land in preparing bedding and campfire sites. Do not clear vegetation, trench or excavate a flat spot to create bedding sites. Never put nails in trees. Consider your impacts on both present and future visitors. This commitment toward wilderness and backcountry values will help promote similar value attitudes to the public. Plan the layout of camp components carefully from the start. Define cooking, sleeping and latrine areas. Identify water supplies. Limit travel ways within, to and from the camp. Consider use of indoor-outdoor carpet, scrim or other material to protect vegetation in the most heavily traveled areas of the camp, such as the kitchen, campfire, wash up and to and from sleeping areas. If a large-sized camp is established, designate a common wash up area for personnel. Provide fresh water, buy degradable soap and a place for wastewater. In smaller camp situations, carry water and bathe away from lakes and streams. Do not introduce soap, shampoo or other personal grooming chemicals into waterways. Divise a plan for disposing of wastewater from kitchen and wash areas. In a one-crew size camp, individuals should use the cat-hole method of disposing of human waste. Holes should be dug 6 to 8 inches deep. Toilet sites should be located a minimum of 200 feet from water sources. In a larger size camp situation, fly in a portable backcountry latrine and fly out human waste as necessary. If the camp does not have air support, establish community latrines away from water sources rather than leaving toilet site selection to each individual. Campfires can be one of the most impacting aspects of camping. Use stoves for cooking. If a campfire is built for warmth in the evening, use existing fire rings or build either a pit or mound fire. Use dead and down firewood. Use small diameter wood, which burns more completely. Don't burn plastics or aluminum. Such items should be packed out with the camp garbage. Remember that many paper packages are lined with foil. They will not burn. When leaving an area, leave it as you found it, or better than you found it. Evaluate the entire campsite area, including travel ways and helispots. Leaving an area as near to its natural appearance requires little effort. It's everyone's responsibility to include this ethic as part of their basic land stewardship and resource protection task. In the following section, we'll explore the land stewardship task of fire suppression rehabilitation. The goal with rehabilitation of fire management impacted areas is to leave them within as natural appearing condition as possible. To achieve this goal, firefighters are challenged to test their imagination by spending a few minutes in an adjacent unburnt wildland area observing the appearance of natural conditions. After the fire spread is secured, fill in fire lines and cup trenches. Use woody material arranged in a random fashion to assist with water dispersion, act as soil sediment collectors and prevent erosion. Cut stumps from cut trees and larger size brush flush with the ground surface. Camouflage cut stumps if possible. Use natural or woody material arranged in a random fashion over the flush cut surface. Camouflaging cut ends of bullwood poses more challenge. Consider the following techniques as a means to leave these impacts in as natural appearing condition as possible. Place the cut end under or adjacent to other down material. Consider explosives. Scatter concentrations of material along a constructed fire line or helispot. A final act in protecting our wildland resources and values is the removal of all human evidence in the form of litter, flagging or garbage. This must be packed out. Pay special attention to signs of fire suppression activity adjacent to recreation facilities such as campsites and trails. Rehabilitate these impacts to as close to natural conditions as possible. The rehabilitation techniques described are applicable throughout an entire fire incident area, whether it's a result of impacts from fire line, mop up activity, helispot construction, fire camps or newly formed foot trails, especially in the more fragile landscapes. Rehabilitation of fire management impacts is an important aspect of protecting wildland values. It's an indication of our wildland ethics and stewardship values. In summary, let's recall the major points of minimum impact suppression tactics. Protection of wildland values is everyone's responsibility. Agency administrator, resource specialists, incident team, resource advisor and the firefighter. The impacts of your fire management efforts can last long after the fire is out. Managing our actions is an equal part of a fire management program. Fire policy challenges us to use a variety of fire lining and mop up tactics to achieve fire management goals, minimize impacts and accomplish the job in a safe, cost efficient manner. Every tactic must reflect firefighter safety principles. Safety awareness needs to be integrated with routine working habits. Leave no trace camping techniques established for wilderness and backcountry visitors are applicable with fire camp situations. An equally important aspect of protecting wildland values is the rehabilitation of impacts caused during our fire management activities. Although mist is strongly emphasized for wilderness, national parks and other sensitive environmental sites, the concepts and principles are an applicable code of ethics for all wildland fire incidents. Following the principles outlined in this video will assist you in your role as stewards of the land and protectors of wildland values.