Department of Forestry, Rangeland and Watershed Stewardship
F489 A-F


CCHE approval was first granted in 1989 for Colorado State University to deliver the out-of-state unique-titled courses (F 489) described below. Colorado State academic credits are available for purchase by course participants at the approved Division of Educational Outreach (DEO) contract rate. These courses are offered as part of Technical Fire Management, a series of instruction modules offered primarily to public agency employees with a minimum of five years professional forestry management experience. The content of these courses has previously been reviewed and signed off by other departments on campus, i.e., Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Agriculture and Resource Economics, and Management. The instructor of record is Professor Philip N. Omi, Department of Forest Sciences.



F 489A: NUMERICAL ANALYSIS FOR FIRE MANAGERS
3 credits

Students will learn to summarize, describe and display fire and fuels data used in making management decisions. This will be accomplished in the context of recognizing and formulating problems, constructing mathematical models of problems, collecting data to estimate parameters of a problem, developing conclusions from module, and testing and refining models.



F 489B: ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT FOR FIRE SPECIALISTS
3 credits

Students will study components of microeconomics including price theory, capital budgeting and the theory of the firm. They will understand the elements of financial analysis (compounding, discounting, time preference for money). They will also study methods of cost determination, market, non-market valuation and decision analysis in fire management.



F 489C: FUELS AND FUEL MANAGEMENT
3 credits

Upon completion of the Fuels module, students will: (1) be able to discuss and diagram the linkages among fuels, fuel treatments, and land management; (2) apply the concepts of the Fire Behavior Prediction System data needs for making fire behavior predictions; (3) be able to define and discuss the concepts of fire hazard, fire risk, and fire danger; and to identify the appropriate situations for their use; (4) prepare an acceptable fuel treatment plan for a specified project.



F 489D: FIRE EFFECTS
3 credits

The student will be able to identify and describe effects of fire on plants, soil and water, microclimate, air quality, insects and pathogens, wildlife, and be able to conduct field investigations of long-term fire effects (fire history) and prepare report of field investigation. The student will also be able to identify monitoring techniques for long-term and short-term fire effects



F 489E: FIRE AND LAND MANAGEMENT
3 credits

The student will develop the ability to analyze and compare alternative fire management system configurations on the basis of least cost-plus-loss, tolerable or allowable resource loss, operating costs, sociological, legal and environmental considerations as these relate to specific land management alternatives.



F 489F: TECHNICAL FIRE MANAGEMENT PROJECT
3 credits

This project serves as a capstone for students completing the previous five modules. Trainees are expected to prepare a fire management case study and professional report incorporating knowledge obtained in previous modules, including application of techniques in the following subject areas: numerical analysis, economics and management, fuels and prescribed fire management, fire effects, fire and land management. The case study project and report will be evaluated by instructors and defended at an oral presentation.


History of F489 Courses at Colorado State University




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This page last modified on Fri March 14 2003