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Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), [YOUR NAME HERE] request the following documents and information regarding the [YEAR AND NAME OF FIRE] on the [NAME OF NATIONAL FOREST]: 1) Daily and nightly shift plans; 2) Daily and nightly fire maps, including fire intensity maps, locations of firelines (including both handlines and dozerlines), locations of all firing operations (including burnout and backfires), locations of all retardant drops; fire progression maps, fire planning maps, and GIS datasets, helispot locations, drop point and staging area locations; firefighter safety zone locations, base and spike camp locations; 3) Dates of fireline construction, firing operations, and retardant drops; 4) All locations where chemical fire retardants were applied, by air and by ground, displayed in maps, charts, tables, and any other method used to track affected areas; 5) A list of chemicals that were used for fire suppression efforts, including estimated amounts used and the locations of their distribution and applications; 6) Incident commander strategic planning meeting notes; 7) Radio communication logs; 8) Fire behavior analyst reports; 9) All weather reports used during the fire; 10) Documentation unit records; 11) Locations and amounts of all tree felling operations, including trees felled for fireline construction or improvement, mop-up, hazard tree removal, or any other reasons for felling or removing large live or dead trees or logs, and records on the sale or disposition of these trees, including but not limited to volume estimates and revenue generated; 12) Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation reports and data; 13) ICS 201: Incident briefing forms; 14) ICS 203: Organization assignment lists; 15) ICS 207: Organization assignment charts; 16) ICS 209: Incident status summary reports; 17) ICS 220: Air operations summary reports; 18) All Incident Commander evaluations, including the final evaluation; 19) Fire Management Action Plan(s); 20 Fire Management Plan(s); 21) All Wildland Fire Situation Analyses; 22) All official USFS press releases related to the fire incident; 23) All data estimating the daily and total cumulative costs of suppression, and costs of suppression equipment, crews, or contractors; 24) All records, memos, photos, internal email and external mail correspondence and any other documents providing information on the fire and fire suppression efforts; 25) All Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data and coverages (in ArcInfo format) that have been developed for the fire, including fire intensity maps, fire progression maps, locations of all fire suppression actions, and any other coverages related to fire behavior, fire suppression actions, and the effects of the fire and firefighting actions. Please include metadata for all coverages, if available. This request is not meant to be exclusive of any other records, which though not specifically requested, would have a reasonable relationship to the subject matter of this request. Indeed, we request all relevant records and documents relating to the [YEAR AND NAME OF FIRE]. Information concerning the [NAME OF FIRE] is of unquestioned interest to the evaluation of fire behavior, fire effects, fire suppression actions and their effectiveness and effects, and the debates over firefighting and salvage logging. As such, this information requested will contribute to public understanding and oversight of Forest Service operations and their relation to the public’s wishes concerning forest management. We need the above requested information in order to evaluate management activities on the [NAME OF FOREST(S)] in the context of sound ecosystem science and applicable laws and regulations. This information will be used in our ongoing efforts to promote and participate in environmentally sound management of our National Forests, and to inform the public on forest management issues. The requesting organizations, [YOUR NAME(S) HERE], will make the disclosed information and our analysis of it available to any interested party upon request, will display it in presentations, publications, and educational materials of our own production; and will seek to have it published in local, regional, statewide, and national environmental and mainstream press. We are aware of no other organization, individual, or other entity that has already compiled the above requested information and made it available to the public. We collaborate with a large number of individuals, organizations, and institutions throughout the region, state, and nation, and will share this information with them. Therefore, the requested information will significantly contribute to the public’s understanding of National Forest management issues. As a non-profit organization operating in the public interest, we claim exemption from any and all costs or fees associated with the provision of this information, as provided by the FOIA. A fee waiver is also appropriate because our group is "engaged in a nonprofit activity designed for the public safety, health, or welfare" and "is in the public interest" in that "it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government, and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester." (7 CFR Subtitle A, Part 1, Subpart A, Appendix A, Section 6. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact us. We look forward to your reply within the time frame provided by the FOIA. Sincerely, [YOUR NAME HERE] |
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