This report was designed to meet three broad goals: (1) evaluate wildfire hazard on Federal lands; (2) develop information useful in prioritizing where fuels treatments and mitigation measures might be proposed to address significant fire hazard and risk; and (3) develop risk-based performance measures to document the effectiveness of fire management programs. The research effort described in this report is designed to develop, from a strategic view, a first approximation of how fire likelihood and fire intensity influence risk to social, economic, and ecological values at the national scale....

Land management agencies need to understand and monitor the consequences of their fire suppression decisions. We developed a framework for retrospective fire behavior modeling and impact assessment to determine where ignitions would have spread had they not been suppressed and to assess the cumulative effects that would have resulted. This document is a general guidebook for applying this methodology and is for land managers interested in quantifying the impacts of fire suppression. Using this methodology will help land managers track the cumulative effects of suppression, frame future...

Following wildfires in the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of the Interior mobilize Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams to assess immediate post-fire watershed conditions. BAER teams must determine threats from flooding, soil erosion, and instability. Developing a postfire soil burn severity map is an important first step in the rapid assessment process. It enables BAER teams to prioritize field reviews and locate burned areas that may pose a risk to critical values within or downstream of the burned area. By helping to identify indicators of soil...

This annotated bibliography is a synthesis of information products available to land managers in the western United States regarding economic and financial aspects of forestry-based woody biomass removal, a component of fire hazard and/or fuel reduction treatments. This publication contains over 200 forestry-based biomass papers, financial models, sources of biomass and log price information, and biomass utilization facility locations.

Monitoring ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) in the Black Hills National Forest is a priority for forest managers due to the bird's status as the management indicator species for quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and its value to hunters and other recreational groups. We conducted drumming surveys, estimated occupancy, and assessed the influence of sampling and site variables to determine benchmark levels of precision for ruffed grouse occupancy and detection probability estimates. Using these estimates and simulations, we developed a monitoring protocol for ruffed grouse in the Black Hills....

The 2010 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment is the fifth report prepared in response to the mandate in the 1974 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (Public Law 93-378, 88 Stat 475, as amended). This report summarizes findings about the status, trends, and projected future of forests, rangelands, wildlife and fish, biodiversity, water, outdoor recreation, wilderness, and urban forests, and the effects of climate change upon these resources. The results will be useful to resource managers and policymakers as they develop strategies to sustain natural resources. The Forest...

Section I. Food Laws: The laws and regulations governing the Thai food industry are confined to the scope of the Food Act of B.E. 2522 (1979). The Act authorizes the Ministry of Public Health's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement and administer the Food Act. Under the Act, all establishments producing food for sale or importing food for sale must be licensed by the Food Bureau of the FDA. The application and granting of licenses must be in accordance with the principles, procedures or conditions prescribed in the Ministerial regulations, which are periodically elaborated,...

The U.S. Congress, in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (the 2002 Act), directed the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a "comprehensive economic evaluation of the ... effects of the various elements of the national dairy policy." The Act further directed the Secretary to study the effects of (a) terminating Federal milk price support and supply management programs, and (b) allowing State cooperation to manage milk prices and supply. Both studies deal with similar questions that relate to the effects of government policies on economic outcomes. For this reason, the two...

The Final Rule for USDA's Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, (published January 26, 2012) intends to ensure the provision of nutrient-dense meals (high in nutrients and low in calories) that meet the health needs of school children and reflect the most current dietary science. Under the rule, all schools must follow a Food-Based Menu Planning (FBMP) approach for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and for the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and produce enough food to offer each child the quantities specified in the meal pattern. State agencies...