Washington — The U.S. Forest Service isn’t expected to make any fewer aerial applications or use less fire retardant under a firefighting plan being adopted to avoid land and water areas where endangered, threatened, and sensitive species are found, according to Edward Goldberg of ICL, which supplies Phos-Chek long-term fire retardant. “There isn’t any cutback. Actually these guidelines have been in place since 2002. They are based on the environmental impact statement the Forest Service mapped out last year that amounts to avoiding areas where drops shouldn’t be made. There’s really no operational change in what they’ve been doing for the last 10 years.” The agency recently put things in writing, saying that it has “identified a preferred approach for continuing the aerial application of fire retardant on National Forest System lands.” As described in the final environmental impact statement, the preferred approach would map land and water areas to avoid endangered, threatened, and sensitive species. This agency-preferred alternative would permit aerial delivery of fire retardant into waterways only when human life or public safety is threatened. The preferred alternative’s protocols would also better protect cultural resources that include historic properties, traditional cultural resources, and tribal sacred sites. Agency action was prodded by a July 2010 decision by the U.S. District Court in Montana which directed the Forest Service to complete further analysis and to consult further with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries Service. An organization had sued the agency and claimed the Forest Service had not adequately analyzed the effects of dropping fire retardant and had not adequately protected endangered species from its effects. Still, officials point out, the preferred alternative does not represent a final decision, but is one of three alternatives that the agency considered for tools that would allow the Forest Service to fight fires in rugged topography, in remote locations, and in areas that present risks to firefighters and the public. The Forest Service expects to issue its Record of Decision – which will establish agency direction regarding use of fire retardant applied from aircraft – before Dec. 31. According to ICL’s Goldberg, the Forest Service and Interior Department have a number of suppliers of fire chemicals suppliers, but ICL’s Phos-Chek brand is the leading fire suppressant formulation.
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