Suppression Efforts Research Articles

Complexities in post-wildfire governance: lessons from Colorado’s 2020 wildfires

BackgroundThe increasing size and severity of western U.S. wildfires in recent years has generated greater attention towards post-wildfire response and recovery. Post-fire governance requires coordinating response and recovery capacities across jurisdictions, landscapes, and time scales. The presence of wildfire on federal public lands necessitates federal agency involvement in both suppression and recovery efforts, and program coordination with lower levels of government and non-governmental organizations. Using semi-structured interviews, we investigated experiences of leaders across the governance system with federal post-fire policies and programs following the record-breaking Cameron Peak and East Troublesome wildfires in the state of Colorado.ResultsOur research found that persistent administrative and coordination challenges exist within and among federal agencies in the post-fire response and recovery space. Challenges included cross-jurisdictional coordination of key emergency response programs, program rules that affect post-fire project timing and effectiveness, the absence of a formal federal post-fire response strategy, and program funding issues. These factors revealed and exacerbated scale mismatches between existing agency capacities and the post-fire landscapes that result from unprecedentedly longer, larger, and more severe wildfires occurring in the western USA. Non-federal and non-governmental organizations were instrumental in overcoming these challenges through coordinating response and recovery efforts across both federal and private lands. To improve the federal post-fire response capacity, study participants stressed the importance of broader cross-jurisdictional use of federal resources, longer timeframes for recovery activities, and reforming the federal funding process.ConclusionsOur findings revealed a persistence of post-fire coordination and funding issues within federal land management agencies, and current agency capacities remain insensitive to the scale of twenty-first-century post-wildfire settings. Addressing the mismatches between existing agency resources and the spatial and temporal scale complexities of post-fire environments will require broader federal support for existing programs along with re-envisioning the overall approach to the post-fire response and recovery process.

Selectivity of invasive species suppression efforts influences control efficacy

Abstract Highly fecund invaders and size‐selective suppression efforts often limit the effectiveness of invasive species control programs, as compensatory processes can allow suppressed populations to recover. While population models have long explored how demographic characteristics impact management feasibility, there is a growing need to evaluate how the selectivity of suppression efforts might impact the long‐term feasibility of control. We use a simulation framework that integrates age‐based selectivity to evaluate the effect of increasing the range of ages selected for during harvest‐based invasive species control. We applied this approach to common carp in Utah Lake, the location of one of the world's largest freshwater vertebrate species control programs, to assess how selectivity impacts the level of control effort necessary to achieve management targets. Model simulations suggest that increasing the range of ages effectively targeted by removal gears has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of effort required to reach control targets. We found that increasing selectivity on younger, but mature, age classes allowed the control program to maintain the carp population below the 75% biomass reduction target with only 2.5 times the maximum historic effort level, while further increasing juvenile selectivity conferred minimal benefit. Furthermore, we evaluated historic levels of harvest effort against both previously set management targets and theoretical sustainable harvest targets (MSY). The historic level of suppression effort was less than that required to produce MSY regardless of the selectivity scenario explored, suggesting the control program would be harvesting at a sustainable rate even if it increases the range of ages effectively targeted by removal gears. Synthesis and applications. Controlling highly fecund invasive species becomes much more feasible if managers can identify an approach that targets all adult age classes. Explicitly considering sustainable harvest metrics provides a framework for evaluating a harvest control program's ability to overcome density‐dependent processes and achieve management objectives.

Designing Buildings and Building Environments for Greater Resilience against the Encroachment of Seasonal Forest Fires

Aim: The threat of forest fires in residential communities close to the urban-wildland interface is a big concern in the face of limited manpower for firefighting operations. The paper seeks to answer the question of, 'how to design buildings to withstand the threats from seasonal forest fires. To encourage further research on automatic fire detection and suppression, the following questions are asked: 1. Can we develop a simulation system to manage water in reservoirs for fire suppression efforts while reducing the toll on firefighters in various communities? 2. What are the factors that we need to consider in establishing a minimum distance between the forest and residential communities? 3. How can we reduce fire hazards in various residential communities? Project and methods: A site visit was carried out at local fire station to have a better understanding of the equipment used in firefighting operations. To examine the feasibility of having an adequate water supply for automatic sprinkler operations for firefighting purposes in exterior portions of buildings, simulation processes were used to evaluate how long the water in a reservoir will be available for firefighting. Results: The results showed that water in reservoirs can be successfully managed for automatic fire suppression efforts. This indicates that automatic fire suppression systems would be a good complement to the human response to the encroachment of forest fires in residential communities. This would be helpful to reduce the toll on firefighters while reducing losses in various communities. Conclusions: This study describes a conceptual framework on how buildings can be designed to better withstand the threats from seasonal forest fires. An adequate application of the water sprinkler technology for the exterior part of buildings is recommended. Simulation systems were used to evaluate how long water from various sources may be available for firefighting purposes. Rather than waiting for firefighters to come and help extinguish the fire in residential communities, the design of our buildings can be such that it would not only put a major focus on the automatic deployment of the water sprinkler effect for the interior sections of the buildings, but the improved designs for residential buildings should be such that automatic water sprinklers are available to cover all the exterior portions of buildings for a pre-determined length of time, to mitigate the effect of seasonal forest fires. Field testing and validation of the proposed process are recommended. Keywords: forest fires; firefighting; building designs; automation; simulations

Driving Factors and Future Trends of Wildfires in Alberta, Canada

Departures from historical wildfire regimes due to climate change have significant implications for the structure and composition of forests, as well as for fire management and operations in the Alberta region of Canada. This study analyzed the relationship between climate and wildfire and used a random forest algorithm to predict future wildfire frequencies in Alberta, Canada. Key factors driving wildfires were identified as vapor pressure deficit (VPD), sea surface temperature (SST), maximum temperature (Tmax), and the self-calibrated Palmer drought severity index (scPDSI). Projections indicate an increase in wildfire frequencies from 918 per year during 1970–1999 to 1151 per year during 2040–2069 under a moderate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenario (RCP 4.5) and to 1258 per year under a high GHG emission scenario (RCP 8.5). By 2070–2099, wildfire frequencies are projected to increase to 1199 per year under RCP 4.5 and to 1555 per year under RCP 8.5. The peak number of wildfires is expected to shift from May to July. These findings suggest that projected GHG emissions will substantially increase wildfire danger in Alberta by 2099, posing increasing challenges for fire suppression efforts.

Geo-Fenced Aerial Fire Response System

Purpose: We aim to create a prototype of a fire extinguisher drone equipped with advanced geo-fencing technology explicitly designed for use in high-rise buildings. This drone will be capable of both ground movement and flight, allowing it to quickly navigate narrow spaces and difficult-to-reach areas. Methodology: The study involves an in-depth analysis of various drones, features, and geo-fencing to develop a prototype for precise and targeted fire suppression. The aim is to minimize the damage caused by fires and improve overall safety by enabling swift intervention, particularly in confined or elevated locations where traditional firefighting methods may face challenges. Findings: The prototype drone, equipped with geo-fencing capabilities, has demonstrated its ability to be efficiently deployed within specific, pre-defined areas, significantly improving its precision and effectiveness in targeted fire suppression. This feature ensures that the drone operates only within designated zones, reducing the risk of interference or wandering into unsafe areas. The drone is controlled remotely, allowing it to fly freely and access hard-to-reach locations quickly. A small surveillance camera mounted on the drone enhances its effectiveness by providing real-time visuals of the fire's location and intensity. This capability allows operators to assess the situation more accurately and deploy the necessary response measures, making the drone a powerful tool for modern firefighting operations. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The findings from this prototype provide valuable insights that can shape the future of fire response mechanisms and drone designs. The drones can target fires while minimizing risks to firefighting personnel, and they can potentially revolutionize emergency response strategies. The ability to remotely control drones, equipped with geo-fencing and surveillance capabilities, reduces the need for human intervention in dangerous situations and improves the speed and accuracy of fire suppression efforts. Furthermore, this technology can be applied to detect and combat wildfires, helping to minimize their destructive impact by enabling quicker detection and targeted responses in remote or difficult-to-access areas. These advancements pave the way for safer and more efficient firefighting methods in the future.

Characterizing firebrands and their kinematics during lofting

Spot fires pose a major risk and add to the already complex physics, which makes fire spread so hard to predict, especially in the wildland urban interface. Firebrands can not only cross fuel breaks and thwart other suppression efforts but also directly damage infrastructure and block evacuation routes. Transport models and computational fluid dynamics tools often make simplifications when predicting spot fire risk, but there is a relative lack of experimental data to validate such parameterizations. To this end, we present a field experiment performed at the University of California Berkeley Blodgett Research Forest in California where we recorded the flame and firebrands emanating from a nighttime hand-drawn pile fire using high-frequency imaging. We used image-processing to characterize the fire intensity and turbulence as well as particle tracking velocimetry to measure ejected firebrand kinematics as they are lofted by the plume. We further collected embers that settled around the fire at varying distances and measured their size, shape, density, and settling distributions. We also examine existing physics-based time-averaged models of firebrand lofting and note discrepancies between such models, often used due to their speed and simplicity, and our experimental observations. Finally, we discuss some implications our observations could have on future modeling efforts by considering the time-dependent fire dynamics, intermittency in the plume turbulence, and in the firebrand generation rate. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first in situ observations of firebrand generation and lofting from representative fuels, addressing a major source of data gap and uncertainty in the wildland fire literature.

Tweet no harm: Offer solutions when alerting the public to voter suppression efforts

Voter suppression was a major issue during the 2018 U.S. Midterm elections. Civil rights organizations, advocacy groups, and celebrities used Twitter to urgently warn voters about potential problems at the polls. However, in raising awareness of these normatively problematic matters, these messages had the potential to negatively impact key measures of democratic health. We conduct a survey experiment exploring the effect of exposure to tweets about voter suppression on confidence in elections, democratic legitimacy, and vote intent. Tweets that highlight voter suppression without a solution depress confidence in elections across all party groups, suggesting that solely warning people about problems at the polls without concrete actions they can take in response may do more harm than good. In addition, tweets highlighting voter suppression increase democratic legitimacy among Republicans relative to Democrats, suggesting that the former see such efforts as beneficial. There is no impact of either treatment condition on vote intent. Normative implications for democracy are discussed.

Implementation Analysis of Hospital Occupational Safety and Health (K3RS) Program using the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) Method at RSUD Al-Ihsan, West Java

Occupational accidents in the hospital environment are very complex and high-risk. So the K3RS program must be implemented to protect the safety and health of staff, patients, and visitors. This study aims to analyze the Implementation of the Hospital Occupational Safety and Health Program (K3RS) using the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action) method at Al-Ihsan Hospital, West Java. The technique used is descriptive research with a qualitative approach. The research informants were selected using purposive sampling, involving individuals with authority and relevant knowledge regarding OHSRS at Al-Ihsan Hospital West Java. The informants came from various positions, including the Head of Hospital Occupational Safety and Health Installation, the Head of the Disaster Prevention and Control Unit, and the Head of the Occupational Safety and Health Unit. Through the PDCA method, the OHSRS program is evaluated and improved on an ongoing basis, from planning preventive measures, implementing safety measures, and examining effectiveness, to corrective action and improvement. The results showed that the implementation of PDCA in the OHSRS program had a significant positive impact on fire prevention and suppression efforts, as well as improving the safety of staff, patients, and visitors. This study also presents suggestions for further optimization of the PDCA program to improve the management of all risks in the hospital environment.

Willingness and capacity of publicly-funded vector control programs in the USA to engage in tick management

BackgroundThe vast majority of vector-borne diseases in the USA are associated with mosquitoes or ticks. Mosquito control is often conducted as part of community programs run by publicly-funded entities. By contrast, tick control focuses primarily on individual residential properties and is implemented predominantly by homeowners and the private pest control firms they contract. We surveyed publicly-funded vector control programs (VCPs), presumed to focus mainly on mosquitoes, to determine what tick-related services they currently offer, and their interest in and capacity to expand existing services or provide new ones.MethodsWe distributed a survey to VCPs in the Northeast, Upper Midwest and Pacific Coast states of the USA, where humans are at risk for bites by tick vectors (Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes pacificus) of agents causing Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. The data we report are based on responses from 118 VCPs engaged in vector control and with at least some activities focused on ticks.ResultsDespite our survey targeting geographic regions where ticks and tick-borne diseases are persistent and increasing public health concerns, only 11% (12/114) of VCPs reported they took direct action to suppress ticks questing in the environment. The most common tick-related activities conducted by the VCPs were tick bite prevention education for the public (70%; 75/107 VCPs) and tick surveillance (48%; 56/116). When asked which services they would most likely include as part of a comprehensive tick management program, tick bite prevention education (90%; 96/107), tick surveillance (89%; 95/107) and tick suppression guidance for the public (74%; 79/107) were the most common services selected. Most VCPs were also willing to consider engaging in activities to suppress ticks on public lands (68%; 73/107), but few were willing to consider suppressing ticks on privately owned land such as residential properties (15%; 16/107). Across all potential tick-related services, funding was reported as the biggest obstacle to program expansion or development, followed by personnel.ConclusionsConsidering the hesitancy of VCPs to provide tick suppression services on private properties and the high risk for tick bites in peridomestic settings, suppression of ticks on residential properties by private pest control operators will likely play an important role in the tick suppression landscape in the USA for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, VCPs can assist in this effort by providing locally relevant guidelines to homeowners and private pest control firms regarding best practices for residential tick suppression efforts and associated efficacy evaluations. Publicly-funded VCPs are also well positioned to educate the public on personal tick bite prevention measures and to collect tick surveillance data that provide information on the risk of human encounters with ticks within their jurisdictions.Graphical

Race, the Ballot, and Hegemony: What the Struggle over Immigrant Voting Teaches Us About Rightwing Mobilization in the U.S.

While there has been an increase in rhetoric and efforts to block expanding voting rights to noncitizens around the United States, there is a relative lack of academic research examining the ideology, political actors, and strategy behind such efforts. In addressing this gap, we explore anti-immigrant voting rights campaigns as they relate to broader rightwing mobilization and voter suppression efforts. We draw upon the literature on Gramsci’s conception of hegemony to document and analyze efforts to use state power to change constitutions and election laws in ways that politically disenfranchise working class people of color in order to institutionalize white minority rule. We explore the nature of this political project and how more conventional rightwing actors dovetail with grassroots extremism by examining both historical and contemporary cases. We show how these networks have employed a mix of legal, administrative, and violent tactics during the turn of the twentieth century as well as in the contemporary period to politically realize a common, exclusionary ideology to shape the electorate and polity. We argue struggles over noncitizen voting rights reflect debate about distinct visions of who properly constitutes “the people,” and what is and should be the nature of the American polity: are we a white Anglo Christian republic or a multiracial egalitarian democracy? In so doing, we argue the rise and fall – and reemergence – of noncitizen immigrant voting rights in the U.S. represents a microcosm of the broader “voting wars” embroiling the nation.

Foreign Workers and Human Rights Violations: Malaysia’s Response to COVID-19 and The Way Forward

Foreign workforce has significantly contributed to Malaysia’s economy, and this country has been relying on them for decades. Unfortunately, Malaysia was already entangled with the country’s treatment of foreign workers even before the onset of COVID-19. As a government suppression attempt to flatten the COVID-19 pandemic curve, Malaysian efforts to deal with the situation seem to be at the lowest point. Despite the government’s commitment not to detain them throughout the screening process, foreign workers have been held in immigration depots regardless of their legal status. In addition, the overcrowded immigration depot makes it hard to exercise physical distance, hampers the quarantine process, and unequal health care facilities in detention centres. This situation captured worldwide attention since it violated human rights legislation. The protection of workers’ rights is also in tandem with the United Declaration of Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG) 8.8, encouraging and ensuring everyone’s right to a safe and healthy workplace is protected. This paper employed thematic analysis using ATLAS.ti 9 software to evaluate the government’s suppression efforts and human rights violations during COVID-19. The findings propose numerous suggestions, including an emergency review of the admission process for foreign workers to Malaysia. The inconsistency in the government policy had hampered the country’s mission of becoming a developed nation. It thus hindered the advancement of innovation and technology, as in the Twelfth Malaysian Plan and Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

Backfire: the settler-colonial logic and legacy of Smokey Bear

ABSTRACT Since the 1940s, the United States Forest Service’s (USFS) national fire suppression efforts have been bolstered by a public-facing ad campaign led by the Ad Council, most notably through the iconic rise of Smokey Bear. The consequences of decades of strict fire suppression, promulgated and solidified by this highly successful campaign, have been ecologically disastrous, and especially detrimental for fire-dependent Indigenous communities and ecosystems. Scholars have examined the Smokey campaign’s racialized, nationalist discourse, yet none have grappled with the campaign’s settler colonial logic, itself replete with gendered exclusion and speciesism. In this article, we combine intersectional theoretical frameworks with settler colonial and Indigenous studies to carry out a systematic content analysis of 201 unique campaign documents. We demonstrate how the campaign’s production of the careful citizen – one rooted in mid-to-upper class, settler masculinity – hinges on interlocking narratives of Indigenous erasure, low-class criminality, and the helpless victimhood of women and more-than-human species.

Fire suppression and land-use strategies drive future dynamics of an invasive plant in a fire-prone mountain area under climate change

Woody invasive alien species can have profound impacts on ecosystem processes and functions, including fire regulation, which can significantly affect landscape resilience. Acacia dealbata, a widespread invasive alien plant in the Iberian Peninsula, holds well-known fire-adaptation traits (e.g., massive soil seed banks and heat-stimulated seed germination). In this study, we assess to what extent fire suppression and land-use strategies could affect the potential distribution of A. dealbata in a fire-prone transboundary protected mountain area of Portugal and Spain, using Habitat Suitability Models. Specifically, we predicted changes in habitat suitability for A. dealbata between years 2010 and 2050. We explored the potential impacts of two land-use strategies ('Business-as-usual' or 'High Nature Value farmlands') combined with three levels of fire suppression effectiveness using the biomod2 package in R. We also considered the potential effects of two climate change scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Our modeling approach demonstrated a strong capacity to predict habitat suitability using either climate or land-cover information alone (AUC climate=0.947; AUC LC=0.957). According to climate-based models, A. dealbata thrives under conditions characterized by higher precipitation seasonality, higher precipitation in the warmest month, and higher minimum temperature in the coldest month. Regarding land cover, A. dealbata thrives mainly in landscapes dominated by urban areas and evergreen forest plantations. Our models forecasted that habitat suitability by 2050 could either increase or decrease depending on the specific combinations of fire suppression, land-use, and climate scenarios. Thus, a combination of business-as-usual and fire-exclusion strategies would enhance habitat suitability for the species. Conversely, management promoting High Nature Value farmlands would decrease the available suitable habitat, particularly under low fire suppression efforts. These findings suggest that promoting sustainable farming activities could impede the spread of A. dealbata by reducing habitat availability, while strategies aiming at fire-exclusion could facilitate its expansion, likely by enabling establishment and large seed production. This study highlights the complex interplay between fire-prone invasive species, fire and land-use strategies, and climate change; and thus the need to consider the interactions between land-use and fire management to promote invasive species control and landscape resilience.

Record-breaking fire weather in North America in 2021 was initiated by the Pacific northwest heat dome

The 2021 North American wildfire season was marked by record breaking fire-conducive weather and widespread synchronous burning, extreme fire behaviour, smoke and evacuations. Relative to 1979–2021, the greatest number of temperature and vapor pressure deficit records were broken in 2021, and in July alone, 3.2 million hectares burned in Canada and the United States. These events were catalyzed by an intense heat dome that formed in late June over western North America that synchronized fire danger, challenging fire suppression efforts. Based on analysis of persistent positive anomalies of geopotential heights, the heat dome accounted for 21–34% of the total area burned in 2021. The event was 59% longer, 34% larger and had 6% higher maximum amplitude than the same event would have been without a warming climate. Climate change will continue to magnify heat dome events, increase fire danger, and enable extreme synchronous wildfire in forested areas of North America.

Aroplectrus dimerus (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), Ectoparasitoid of the Nettle Caterpillar, Oxyplax pallivitta (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae): Evaluation in the Hawaiian Islands.

The stinging nettle caterpillar, Oxyplax (syn. Darna) pallivitta (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae), is a serious invasive pest of agricultural products and a health hazard on the Hawaiian Islands first discovered in 2001. Nursery workers and homeowners have been stung by the caterpillars while handling their plants, especially rhapis palms (Rhapis sp.). Throughout its invaded range, it causes widespread damage, including the many cultivated and native palm species that have grown in Hawaii. Larvae contain urticating hairs that secrete a toxin, causing painful skin swelling and irritation on contact. Horticulture and nursery products impacted by the limacodid pest are estimated at $84.3 million (2018 value). Suppression efforts with pesticides and lure traps were ineffective, and the moth population continued to spread to major Hawaiian Islands (Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Oahu). The introduction of specific biological control agents from the native region was thought to be the long-term solution for this invasive pest. Initial exploration in Indonesia and Thailand resulted in the introduction of a pupal ectoparasitoid, Nesolynx sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae), that was not specific. The oriental wasp, Aroplectrus dimerus Lin (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Eulophinae), idiobiont gregarious ectoparasitoid of the stinging nettle caterpillar, was introduced from Taiwan in 2004 for host specificity studies and biocontrol in Hawaii. Host range testing showed the parasitoid attacked only limacodid species, and it was approved for field release in 2010. The parasitoid identity, host specificity under containment facility conditions, reproductive performance, and colonization on the major infested sites were assessed. A total of 13,379 parasitoids were colonized on 162 release sites on four Hawaiian Islands. Evaluations were conducted using field surveys of larvae, pupal counts, and male lure traps. Field parasitism was thoroughly investigated on Oahu Island, averaging 18.9 ± 5.6% of 3923 collected larvae during 2010-2023. The numbers of male moths caught/trap/month were significantly reduced on Oahu Island (p < 0.05). Recently, the hyperparasitoid, Pediobius imbreus Walker (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Entedoninae), was detected, reducing the efficiency of A. dimerus in the field. The mean hyperparasitism of A. dimerus pupae was 27.3 ± 7.6% on Oahu Island. There was no detailed biological assessment for A. dimerus or its field evaluation available in scientific literature. Results were discussed regarding the potential use of A. dimerus in biocontrol elsewhere if the stinging nettle caterpillar was invaded in the future.

Improved management of the bermudagrass stem maggot

AbstractThe bermudagrass stem maggot (BSM; Atherigona reversura Villeneuve) continues to damage bermudagrass [Cynodon dactlyon (L.) Pers.] pastures and hayfields throughout the southeastern United States each season. This management guide describes how to identify the damage to the forage and the bermudagrass stem maggot as a larva, pupa, and fly. Strategically timed pyrethroid applications reduce adult BSM populations and yield loss, but ongoing efforts are focused on developing integrated pest management plans that include cultural, physical, and biological suppression efforts. Research is ongoing to improve the effectiveness of insecticide applications and screen new modes of action to prevent resistance to the pyrethroids. However, long‐term solutions will require development and release of tolerant bermudagrass cultivars to reduce the reliance on pesticides. Fine‐stem bermudagrass lines are more susceptible to bermudagrass stem maggot damage than lines with thicker stem diameters. While ‘Tifton 85’ is still considered the standard to which we compare all other bermudagrass lines for BSM tolerance, there is still room for improvement. Genotypes currently under evaluation maintain the positive attributes of Tifton 85 while overcoming these challenges.

The value of local wisdom for peatland fire risk reduction in the wetland area of South Kalimantan

Mitigation of land fires that occur in wetland areas, especially in peatlands, continues to be addressed by the community in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan Province. Local wisdom that applies in the community, which includes local knowledge, local value, local skills, local sources, and regional society solidarity, is expected to reduce the risk of land fires. The research objective is to analyze the value of local wisdom for peatland fire reduction in the wetland area of South Kalimantan. The respondents interviewed were 30 from the Community and Fire Care Community or Masyarakat Peduli Api (MPA) members. Local wisdom prevailing in the community can reduce the risk of peatland fires. The community has the local knowledge, local value, local skills, local sources, and local society solidarity in managing peatlands. Peatlands managed by communities are less likely to burn than unmanaged lands. The tapulikampar system is a local wisdom in the Banjar community to prepare agricultural peatlands without burning. The Banjar community also has good skills in managing peatlands, which are not easily damaged and prone to burning. Cooperation between community groups in MPA is also well implemented in monitoring land fires and suppression efforts. The community makes maximum efforts so that peatlands are not damaged, and the risk of fire can be reduced because potential resources on peatlands must be passed on to the next generation.

Forest fire risk zoning based on fuzzy logic and analytical network process.

Forest fires have a significant impact on human life, property safety, and ecological environment. Deve-loping high-quality forest fire risk maps is beneficial for preventing forest fires, guiding resource allocation for firefighting, assisting in fire suppression efforts, and supporting decision-making. With a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method based on geographic information systems (GIS) and literature review, we assessed the main factors influencing the occurrences of forest fires in Youxi County, Fujian Province. We analyzed the importance of each fire risk factor using the analytic network process (ANP) and assigned weights, and evaluated the sub-standard weights using fuzzy logic assessment. Using ArcGIS aggregation functions, we generated a forest fire risk map and validated it with satellite fire points. The results showed that the areas classified as level 4 or higher fire risk accounted for a considerable proportion in Youxi County, and that the central and northern regions were at higher risk. The overall fire risk situation in the county was severe. The fuzzy ANP model demonstrated a high accuracy of 85.8%. The introduction of this novel MCDA method could effectively improve the accuracy of forest fire risk mapping at a small scale, providing a basis for early fire warning and the planning and allocation of firefighting resources.

COST PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS USING EARNED VALUE METHOD ON PRESERVATION OF EXIT TOLL ROAD SECTION 5 PANDAAN MALANG

The development of road or toll road infrastructure in a country can be used as a benchmark to determine the level of economic progress of a country, both macro and micro. The location of toll exits has a significant effect in absorbing labor and creating new business activities. Projects are dynamic, so contractors must be responsive to changes in situations and conditions on the project, if they want to succeed in reaping optimum profits. Aspects of planning a highly competitive construction at this time are very demanding on accuracy, effectiveness, efficiency, and economy in analyzing a project. In the world of construction projects, there are many things that can be done, one of which is cost control. In controlling costs, efforts can be made so that the realization of costs that occur is in accordance with the needs of implementation and is not excessive, such as cost suppression efforts, namely making savings without reducing quantity or quality. The Earned Value Method is used to determine project performance in terms of costs at one time, determine project performance in terms of schedule/time at one time, estimate costs to complete the project after the evaluation time and estimate the time to complete the project after the evaluation. In this research the author carried out a cost analysis using the Earned Value Method on the preservation of the Section 5 Pandaan Malang Toll Exit Road.

Assessing Invasive Carp in the Neosho River‐Grand Lake System of Kansas and Oklahoma

Invasive carp populations have purported a negative influence on native biota at high densities. These invasive fishes (i.e., bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, and black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus) each exhibit similar life history characteristics. In the Neosho River‐Grand Lake system (i.e., John Redmond Reservoir, Kansas, downstream to Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Oklahoma), only bighead carp and grass carp have been documented to date. The distribution and status of bighead carp throughout this system were previously unknown due to limited historical data and low abundance. While few bighead carp are encountered within this system, grass carp exhibited relatively higher abundance a were used to provide insights into bighead carp. Captures of both species were used to inform management and suppression efforts. Sampling locations (n = 18) were established for environmental DNA analyses throughout the Neosho River‐Grand Lake system. We sampled 13 sites using a suite of gears for standardized targeted fish sampling. All invasive carp were measured, sexed, and otoliths removed for ageing and microchemical analysis. Grass carp were processed for ploidy testing following the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protocol. Environmental DNA analyses generated positive results for the eDNA presence of bighead carp and silver carp. Otolith age estimates suggest fish are long lived and supported by multiple year classes. Additionally, a sampled two‐year‐old grass carp demonstrates spawning and recruitment potential. Otolith microchemistry suggests largescale broad movement patterns. Ploidy testing confirmed the first documented evidence of diploid grass carp in the Neosho River‐Grand Lake system and revealed reproductive viability. Our results may provide future insights into locations for containment, removal, and/or eradication.